The Apostle Paul gives us a good picture of this kind of effective mentoring ministry in 2 Timothy 2:2 when he says to Timothy, “The things that you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” Here is the application for us in student ministry today. Where are the spiritually gifted leaders and mentors? Is there at least one leader like Paul? Is there at least one like Timothy? Are there some adults whose lives look so much like Christ that it would be worth while for all the other adults and students to be mentored or discipled to look like, act like, love like, and serve like them? These are your spiritual leaders. Build the ministry structure around men and women of character like these. If they are not there already, either pray to the Lord of the Harvest for more or begin by mentoring those around you to be these men and women. This brings us to our second question.

Look at these men and women of character. What is their gifting and where is their calling in the body of Christ? It is all going to be relational. However, what is it that they bring to the ministry? Here is a list of five different kinds of leaders from Ephesians 4:11: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Some theologians lump the last two together and make them into a Pastor/Teacher. We will keep it simple for now and consider them separately. Follow me for just a moment. An apostle was and is a sent one. He is someone who starts things. This is the classic Big “L” leader: a leader of leaders. A prophet, I believe, is one who leads through a preaching ministry. He is one who tells it like it is according to God’s revealed truth without concern for his own comfort or safety. They can be just a little “in your face” at times, but all in love, for the glory of God and for the souls of men and women. Evangelists are those whose special calling is to effectively share the gospel with unreached people as well as equip the saints to do the same. The word for “Pastor” is the same word as “Shepherd” in the Greek. Pastors are those with a shepherd’s heart, who have a deep concern for the spiritual health and welfare of the people. They are caregivers. They make people feel safe and cared for. Teachers are called to equip the saints for sound doctrine with the outcome of sound living.

Now let us bring this all back into a twenty-first century, student ministries context. The goal is making disciples and seeing the power of God unleashed in and through the lives of these young people. The young people are not on their own! God has already given them “everything pertaining to life and godliness.” He has also given them some leaders through whom the character of Christ, sound doctrine, and skills in ministry are shown.

Is there an apostle? Is there a leader of leaders? Is there a servant of God (not self-serving) who is willing to mentor mentors, lead leaders, and disciple disciplers? Is this you? He is all about reproducing himself in the lives of other leaders, his character, his doctrine, and his ministry skills. This is the directional leader. He is a risk taker. He is the one responsible to set the direction and start a movement. He is the one who will identify men and women of character and gifting in order to establish the structure of the ministry. He pays close attention to his own growth in Christ: in character, doctrine, and ministry competency.

Are there any prophets? They bring passion to the ministry. They are consumed with the love of Christ and consumed with a love for people and it shows up in their personality, especially when they teach. In fact, they find it hard to just teach, they have to preach with passion.

Is there an evangelist? Even if there is not, I believe that it is the job of every leader to “do the work of an evangelist” just like Paul told Timothy, who was a lead pastor and teacher but not an evangelist. Keep the passion for reaching the lost hot and fresh in the life of the ministry.

Let’s talk about a pastor. It sounds like you already have the deep desire of a true shepherd. Your heart cries out that more students would come to know and love Christ. You have a deep concern for spiritual health in the ministry.

Finally, who are your teachers?