Assignment Title: An Example of Leadership Tiers and Requirements
Course: CHMN 699 - Internship
Student: Kristine Sage
Date: January 29, 2022
Professor: Dr. Mary Smith
Liberty University
An Example of Leadership Tiers and Requirements
I laid out a broad example in the previous section, but now, I am going to get a little detailed. The
primary reason we used a tier system for our leadership team was to ensure that the people at the top,
our inner circle, were there for the right reasons and had the best intentions. For that reason, tier 1 was
open to all. Many youth would drop out during this, which is fine. People, oftentimes, like the idea of
leadership without wanting the work that goes with it. The requirements were a six-week course and a
half-hour of volunteering before or after service every week. Upon completion, they got their first T-
shirt and a 3-ring binder to put their course work in.
Tier 2 was a little more exclusive, and the requirements themselves stopped most people from even
signing up. Six months of training and an hour of volunteering before and after every service is a tough
sell, but these leaders would be trusted to lead small groups, pray with their peers, and head sections of
the youth church. An upgraded T-shirt and a special prayer for those being promoted were their
completion rewards. Tier 3 was only completed by a few people before I left that church. As far as I
know, three total people finished, me being one, with two or three more in the process. Several people
started and dropped out. The requirements were one year, minimum, of training and we basically lived
at church. This included challenges like “Read the Bible Start to Finish in Three Months” and other
intense training. Basically, a person could go from here to Bible College without missing a beat.
Certain leadership roles had special requirements. Anyone on the worship team or other role that
put them in front of the crowd had to also volunteer on behind-the-scenes duties like stuffing bulletins
or stacking chairs. Tier 3 trainees also had to preach at least once a month. I fulfilled that by preaching in
the children’s church on Sunday mornings for about 6 months. While these requirements may seem
steep, remember that you are dealing with teens and young adults who will be acting in leadership roles
that many times are held by people two or three times their age in the adult church. If they are not
prepared, they will do more harm than good, and it will be on the person who trained them…you.
Assigning Your Leaders to Their Best Positions
The solution here is just simple: try things out until they work. Your worship team will mostly figure
it out on their own and come running. Occasionally, you might have to coax someone into worship, but
not often. The other positions in your youth church will always be in flux which is not a bad thing.
Remember that I said the purpose of all this education and training is to make your youth
successful humans and Christians. Sometimes, the best way to find success is to try a number of
different things. Lucky for everyone involved, young people grow up and move on as they should. This
means that every year spots that once were held by some will be vacant again. Other times, a leader
might ask for a new assignment because they are not being fulfilled where they are. As the minds of
your teens grow, they will change and need to seek out new areas for growth. Allow it. The more they
try as leaders, the more well-rounded they will become. Nothing bad comes from letting them try to
lead in different ways. You never know what new skills they will unlock.
Assisting Youth Leaders Who Have a Call for Ministry
I have been a part of churches that would allow on-the-job training to lead to ordination and
churches that require formal education at a Bible college or seminary. The type of church that you are a
part of may change your specific approach for this section, but the principles will apply whether a youth
leader works into ordination or goes to college after they pass your final tier (Tier 3 in my example).
As we train young people, some will realize that preaching or leading worship or some other aspect
of ministry is their calling in life. So, what can we do? In short, you make them your shadow and provide
all the support they need to be successful. In long, think about your own troubles and issues as you
studied and trained to be minister and try to smooth those bumps in the road. That is not to say you
should make it easy. Rather, you should not make it harder, and you should clear some of the stumbling
blocks in front of your student. By this time, you should know them as well as anyone else in the world.
Teach them how to learn. It is our greatest skill as pastors.
Growth Through Leadership: What Have We Learned?
So, this was a lot, wasn’t it? We learned a lot about how a youth church looks and how to build a
core of youth leaders through teaching and training them to be the best person they were born to be.
Young people are our greatest resource, so let’s give every tool they can use to be successful.
