When I first entered youth ministry, I wanted to cultivate student leaders but I had no idea what I was doing. So I did what I always do: I turned to books.

Unfortunately, there weren’t a lot of resources on cultivating student leaders.

So I began experimenting.

This experimentation reached a desperate level nearly a decade ago, when I inherited a dysfunctional student leadership team and knew I needed to make some changes.

In the years since then, I’ve prioritized student leadership in my ministry, devoting a great deal of my time to figuring out how best to develop student leaders. Nothing I’ve done before or since has ever been as transformational for students as this.

That’s just one reason why I’m excited about my new book, Unleashing the Hidden Potential of Your Student Leaders. I’m also excited about Unleashing for 5 other reasons.

  1. It’s both theological and practical. So many ministry books are either theological or practical, but not both. Unleashing the Hidden Potential of Your Student Leaders is both. It offers a theological perspective for why it’s important to cultivate student leaders, but it’s also insanely practical. My writing is birthed from experience – both my wins and my failures (and let me assure you, when it comes to student leadership, I’ve had many failures!)

  2. It’s tested. Not only is Unleashing the Hidden Potential of Your Student Leaders practical, but the ideas found in it are all tested. I’ve actually used them in my own ministry to develop our student leaders.

  3. It’s applicable to ministries of all sizes. So often, it feels like youth ministry books are geared towards those working in big churches – which is NOT where most youth workers work. Student leadership, however, is more than a program. It’s a means of discipleship that’s applicable regardless of whether you have 10 or 1000 students in your ministry.

  4. It’s applicable beyond the walls of your youth room. When you equip student leaders, you give them leadership skills that benefit the rest of your church, as well as their schools, homes, and communities, not just while they’re in your youth ministry but long after they leave it.

  5. It works. NOTHING transforms teens as much as student leadership does. Student leadership enables teens to grow in their faith, leadership skills, confidence, and understanding of their giftedness. Student leadership is, in many ways, the gift that keeps on giving. As one of my former student leaders said, “It works!”

Whether you’re a rookie or veteran youth worker, I’m convinced Unleashing the Hidden Potential of Your Student Leaders will help you change student leadership from a mythical idea into a transformative reality. Get your copy here!

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Today, I’m thrilled to be giving away a copy of Unleashing the Hidden Potential of Your Student Leaders. To enter to win, comment below with one question you have about student leadership OR one struggle you have in this area of ministry. A winner will be chosen from those who comment on Thursday, May 3 so check back after that to see if you won!