I asked 9 young leaders from 3 different nations to answer four questions about church, leadership and walking with Christ.
These young leaders are pastors or key leaders in their church.
They’re passionate about serving Christ and helping to grow a healthy church.
Plus they are all 20 something. They’re young, relatively inexperienced but their voices need to be heard by older leaders like myself.
I think you’ll be informed, challenged and inspired by their words. Feel free to connect with these young leaders by clicking on their name and engaging with them through Facebook.
What Do You Love About Church?
I love the access we have to support, from different generations. No matter the background, stage of faith and age, we can all come together each week to worship the same God.
In the context of relationship, you can help people experience what it means to have a changed heart and life. Seeing a life transformed is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
I love the feeling of being in a big family community. Being an only child, the church has always been like my extended family to me. The church community is home to people united by a common thread.
Seeing God glorified through His family He has bought together.
Samuel Parsonson
Michaela Seneque.
I love church, because she has been my family and home ever since I gave my life to Jesus. I found in her brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers who show me the Love of God in flesh.
People who could be ignored in the supermarket, laughed at in school, undermined in the workplace, find a home and value in church. Church is a safe haven.
I love that everyone is so supportive of each other and that every time I come into the building it feels like you are going home to see your family.
While we live in a world and society that is so twisted and full of people who are hurt, church offers a place where people can just come and be themselves, find hope and find Jesus.
I love that church is so diverse; it is one of true melting pots of society with people from all walks of life. This rich inter-woven set of cultures borrow each others ideas and combine to create a unique environment that cannot be replicated.
Nic Johnston and friends.
What’s One Thing Churches Should Stop Doing?
Weakening or dulling down the Gospel message to appear more relevant to new believers. Thinking some things are too ‘weird’ or controversial for new believers to handle, so never bringing them up.
Pastors need to stop policing Facebook. It’s embarrassing. Unchurched people will just unfollow you, if you post about morality.
I think churches should stop shying away from hard conversations. I think in churches we can sometimes feel like if we’re “too gracious” that we’ll need to compromise on truth, and that if we’re “too much about truth”, then we’ll become legalistic and have no grace!
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Comparing themselves to other churches. Too many times I hear someone who really enjoyed a service and tell someone they went to Hillsong and they respond “Oh yeah we are like Hillsong as well…” Let visitors get to know you without any reference, it will limit their experience.
One thing I believe churches should stop doing is creating a culture of “Groups” on a Sunday. What I mean by that is there is this culture I see in a lot of churches where people stay comfortable in their tight knit packs and forget to get out of that to help other members or visitors feel welcomed.
Churches should stop “camping” in seasons and circumstances in which they were called by God for too long.
Make things other than scripture central. Don’t let personality or experience or the wisdom of man guide your Church. Let your Church unfold out of His Word.
Samuel Parsonson
I would love to see churches invest more into young leaders under 20. Young people can lead sub-sections of services, give offering talks, lead prayers, lead worship for a song. But it is not just the platform roles that young people can perform. What about counting the offering, purchasing the milk for the coffee, mowing the church lawns?
I think churches should stop waiting for people to walk through their doors. In 2016 Australia we have got too comfortable and self-focused.
Adam Legge loves the water.
What’s The Real Challenge For You In Ministry?
Having/finding/keeping friends (inside church and in ministry) that see past the title of ‘pastor’ and are just your friend. People that understand your time commitments, people pressures and with whom you can let your guard down.
My challenge is to make sure that my heart is healthy. I spend time each day, where I turn off all my devices and just read.
Making times to have good quality interaction with my wife and close friends (and quality alone time with myself as well) can sometimes feel impossible. I want to begin forming healthy habits.
At the moment I am struggling with the spirit of intimidation. In my head I have questions like “How could pastor trust me with this if I’m not trained enough, or don’t know the bible well enough?”
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Never knowing how many students will turn up from week to week when we might be doing a massive bake off. Some weeks 2 people turn up and then the next fortnight 28 people turn up.
My real challenge every day in ministry is to be a person who lives what he says and says what he lives.
My heart.
Samuel Parsonson
Learning how to balance my whole life.
Keeping hold of your vision that God has placed in you for your ministry when everyone has an opinion of how else it could be run.
Samuel Parsonson (he’s the good looking guy on the right!).
What Keeps You Fresh In Your Walk With Christ?
Reading the Word and Journaling, meditating.
Prayer walks in nature.
Talking to my husband about what each of us is hearing from God.
Always studying the scriptures deeper after hearing them mentioned on a Sunday message
Pursuing/developing creativity – painting, drawing.
Asking new Christians, people with different views to me what they think about certain topics of faith, and just listening.
Being mentored by a couple of leaders.
Bible reading and prayer.
Spending time with him in my car drives, through graphic design, listening to worship and spending time in nature.Hannah Huff
Regular Bible reading, regular Church attendance, regular quality time with self, friends and wife and regular breaks/holidays/down time. I am finding that structure and routine is the key.
1. I take the time to really find my ‘ideal’ quiet time place. I think prayer is a lifestyle, but really taking time to meet with God and listen to what he has to say takes more effort then prayer on-the-go.
2. Talking to other 20-30 year olds about their journey and struggles. As a creative I can’t survive without out-of-the box ideas to keep me straight.
I try being humble and obedient to Jesus. I refuse to come to a “resolved perception” of Jesus or people around me. I try to stay curious about knowing God
Making sure I make time to spend with him. This is actually something I learnt as I have gone on in my relationship with my wife. If I don’t make time for her she isn’t happy, (and so she shouldn’t be). I’ve found it’s the same with Christ I must make time for Him if I want to grow in Him.
Formal Study: it pushes you into thinking about areas you wouldn’t automatically think about.
Mentor: my mentor is quite a few decades older than me, but he has integrity, soft heart and an ear to God that helps to stretch me.
Meeting other church leaders: when you chat to other leaders you see that they have struggles, similar or different and then you can support one another.
God’s grace; His grace of letting me fall and His grace in real brothers and sisters to be real with, about those falls.
Samuel Parsonson
