So, first we pray: for God to send workers into his harvest. This implies you are involved in the Harvest. Why

would God send workers (leaders) if the heartbeat of your ministry is not for the lost?

Second, we provide an environment conducive to growth. Three words capture how to create this
environment: intentional, personal, steady.

• What is your intentional plan for a student as they come to BSM? Hopefully to become a fully devoted follower of Jesus! Paul stated it well in Colossians 1: 27- 29, “We preach Christ...... We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That’s what I’m working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.” 

• Do you meet with your leadership personally with intentions to challenge them to grow spiritually? No way to avoid personal development of your leadership.

• Steady, week after week with consistency you labor to develop leaders. Soon they begin to develop other leaders. Soon, students want to participate in your “growing ministry”!

How Many Leaders Do We Need?
This may be the wrong question. Yes, we know that, for every leader in your BSM there are probably about 10
other students involved in your regular ministries. So, if you have 10 leaders, you probably have about 100 students
involved in your regular BSM activities (lunch, small groups, international ministry, etc.) Some will have many more than
that. Some will have fewer. However, the general rule is about 10 students for every leader. Though this information
informs us, it is not the way we need to be thinking about leadership.

Leadership in BSM has a profound affect on the lives of student leaders
They discover and exercise skills and abilities that were unknown before. They learn to develop a listening stance toward God – depending on Him for direction of the fellow students and ministry responsibility involved in their particular ministry area. Leadership is a tool of spiritual formation. It engages the heart, flexes the responsibility muscle, provides arms,
hands, and feet for the work of God on the campus and community. Thus, “how many?” is the wrong question.

Leadership is not about “how many?”
It is about giving every student an opportunity to grow and develop their God given potential to serve. It is about mobilizing them to serve and investing in their spiritual growth. So, the question is not “How many do we need?” it is “who are the student leaders God has invested in our ministry on this campus?” (remember, they may not look or act like leaders when your first meet them) What do we need to be doing to mobilize and train them? What do I need to be doing now?
Here are a few suggestions:

• sit down with a list of new students you have met this semester
• as you think about each student, what have you noticed about their skills and abilities and needs
• are there students God is asking you to make an effort to get to know better – make appts to meet them on campus – it their context – not your office
• also, be sensitive to the unreached people needs of your campus that God has placed on your heart during these first weeks of school – has God placed this need on the hearts of some of these students?

How do you discover student leaders?
If there is a particular action that works for you in your context, please share it with other Directors. Others can benefit from your experience.