The Future
I have attended endless meetings, summits, conferences and all manners of get-togethers to address this one issue: the future. The future of the church is the elephant in the room, the topic that is always in the back of our minds as we walk into sanctuaries that are void of college students and Young Adults. It is the topic that we have largely ignored for years, only to be forced to deal with it now as we see droves of young people leave the church.
So. What can we do?
I believe that the future of our church lies in our lay leaders. The pastor provides mentorship and direction, but it is the lay leaders that make things happen. If the pastor is the steering wheel of the church, the lay leaders are the engine. Lay leaders are able to create authentic relationships with their peers, something that is difficult for pastors to do. Lay leaders are able to focus on a single task and perfect it, unlike pastors who must juggle many tasks. There is a long list of examples, but any pastor will tell you that having lay leaders at church makes a major difference in all aspects.
This begs the question, where are our lay leaders?
I’ve found them. They’re at East Coast High School KAYAMM. KAYAMM has a number of subdivisions, but at its core, it is a missionary and leadership training program. For many years, KAYAMM has been based on the west coast. In 2006 the first KAYAMM program was established in the East Coast: JR KAYAMM. JR. KAYAMM targeted middle school students and sought to provide the foundation for leadership. After a few years, we realized that we had a number of high school students who had leadership potential and a foundation, but lacked the ability to receive practice leadership training. This past summer, the first East Coast High School KAYAMM program was established. We brought in potential leaders from all over the east coast to Berrien Springs, Michigan, and gave them an opportunity to experience in a practice sense what it means to be a leader.
The High School KAYAMM program had two major parts, leadership training and VBS. The first half of the week was set aside for leadership training. This was the part of the schedule where the students would go through workshops to prepare them for leadership. This was also the time for them to plan for the second part of our program, VBS. We invited the local children to a VBS program that was organized and coordinated within the High School KAYAMM program. The High School KAYAMM students were divided into the different stations of VBS: crafts, active learning and home room. Each department had one older mentor who would help the leaders. The KAYAMM students were expected to plan and prepare for their respective department, with the mentor figure providing assistance when necessary.
There was a small amount of apprehension from the coordinators. How would these students, many with little or no previous leadership experience, handle a group of 80 hyper kids? Would they meet our expectations?
Yes, they did. There are many superlatives that I could use to describe the High School KAYAMM leaders, but the one word that perfectly describes them is passionate. From the planning stage to the execution of the plan, each leader showed true care. Some stayed up late in the evening to plan. Others woke up early to make adjustments to what they had already planned. Many gave up personal break times to spend more time with the VBS kids. Whatever they did, the actions of the leaders were driven by a passion to lead. When adjustments needed to be made, and there were a lot of them, the leaders adjusted with grace that is sometimes missing from even the most experienced leaders. When stress levels were high, the leaders fell to their knees and prayed. To say that the leaders exceeded my expectations would be an understatement.
We have a group of 24 leaders that are ready now. Not ready in a year or two, but ready NOW. They have demonstrated not just the ability to lead, but the ability to lead with a passion for what they do as Christ as their center. They are ready. What that means is, we have no more excuses. If the future of our church is dependent on our lay leaders, we have them. Not only do we have a number of leaders who can step up now, we have a program that will continue to train quality leaders for the church.
This is not the complete solution for our problem. Not by a long shot. But it is the first step in finding the solution. It is something that we can focus on for the time being, to help stem the bleeding. Moreover, it'ss an encouraging sign that we have a number of young leaders willing to step up and take charge. High School KAYAMM is dedicated to training and preparing the future leaders of our church. High School KAYAMM works. The leaders that come out are well equipped to lead. The church now has the ability to send potential leaders into High School KAYAMM and get back leaders ready to work. With more support and prayers, imagine what more High School KAYAMM can do. Support is what we need. Not just support for the High School KAYAMM program, but support for our new leaders.
The key verse for High School KAYAMM was 1 Timothy 4:12. It was a verse that we had them commit to memory. It reads: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” These leaders are young, and they are relatively inexperienced, but they are not lacking in ability. These leaders have been trained to not let age be a factor in their ministry and are expecting to receive an opportunity to lead. We would be wise to follow suit.
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Pastor Jason Kim is a Seminary student pastoring at Chicago Unity