Nine top tips for young leaders

You’re under 30 and you’re leading in church. How do you lead well and raise up the next generation of young leaders? Ben Ryan from Limitless and Sam Johnson from City Church Cardiff share their views.

Did you know that out of Elim’s 700 active ministers, just 29 (four per cent) are aged under 30? It’s a stat that General Superintendent Mark Pugh is keen to change. That’s why, at this year’s ELS, he invited Sam Johnson and Ben Ryan to take a ‘Leading Young’ seminar.

The pair began the session by highlighting a tough challenge for Elim: addressing a lack of young leaders in national and local positions and breaking a cycle where younger people lack opportunities because leaders hold their roles until retirement.

“We celebrate ministers when they retire at 67 and they’re still senior leaders. I’m not sure we should be celebrating that as much as someone who’s retiring who has, over the past ten years, seen other people raised up while taking steps to the side themselves,” says Sam.

If leaders of every age adopt this mentality, he explained, Elim can raise and nurture its next generation of leaders.

“It’s important for me, as someone in a position of leadership, to ask: can I raise someone up and get out of the way so I’m offering opportunities?”

In their seminar Ben and Sam emphasised “head, heart and hands” – actions which young leaders can take to put this advice into practice.

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