Thanks so much for your comment. I’m terribly sorry it took me so long to respond. You are right now. I love the story of the girl who contacted you after 15 years. Any interest in writing a guest post about that story? I think it would be encouraging to youth workers.

I think you’re on to something here. My experience validates this–both as a teen being ministered to and as a youth leader. The most impactful relationships weren’t limited to the four walls of the church. I remember my middle school leader picking me up from school on a weekly basis for a mentoring Bible study. She said it was because she ‘saw potential in me’. I was honored. (And she was in her 40’s!) I remember my high school leader coming to my soccer games and taking me on a road trip with her. I remember thinking it was so cool that our youth pastor stopped in on high school campuses during lunch hour to check in with his kids.

Then, when I became a youth leader, I just duplicated what I had experienced. I would have my girls over for sleepovers at my apartment, or to help me grade papers (I was a 2nd grade teacher). I remember learning to ask good questions–to ferret out what they thought of God, and how they were responding to him. I remember noticing clues when I watched my girls interact in large group settings–and then following up when I would take a couple of girls out to McDonalds after church. I always looked for ways to connect with their parents, too–because that helped me understand who my girls were.

I still keep in touch with several of my youth leaders, along with a dozen or so girls that I mentored. One girl just reached out to me via facebook after 15 years. She’s a young mom, she wants to come back to God, and she knew I would help her. It was my great delight to do so!

So, I completely validate what you’ve said here. Our kids need mentors–people who care enough to invest, and to cross over into their world. And I also agree with downplaying the coolness factor that younger leaders have. Wisdom (or lack of wisdom) isn’t bound to a certain age bracket. It is, however, something that can be accumulated over time.

Thanks for being intentional with our kids!