I can remember going to school dances where chaperones were in attendance. Their job was to make sure there was no kissing, dirty dancing, or smoking in the parking lot. The goal was the make sure something didn’t happen. Sadly, this is role many youth leaders/volunteers take.
Youth Ministry chaperones make sure no one talks during the message, that nothing gets broken, and no one dies.
Leaders, on the other hand, have a mission each week to make an impact. Volunteer Leaders see their role as proactive rather than re-active. They make sure something does happen
- a life giving affirmation
- a deeper conversation about life
- a listening ear is offered
My view of leadership says a volunteer should be, over time, influencing the lives of students to walk uprightly, make good decisions, and lean into the gifts and abilities God has given them; all the while making sure no one dies.
It’s not either or, it’s both. We should all be training our volunteers to be active participants who, weekly, makes something happen because it’s hard to measure the spiritual growth of students though inaction.