Rising Voices
Leading Up
We all have reasons to do what we do. A saying that has given me purpose in ministry is, “Don’t just live to make it into heaven yourself; make sure to bring others with you.” I’m beginning to realize there’s even more to this statement than I had originally thought. Bringing people to heaven isn’t just about converting someone to Christianity. While the end goal is heaven, deep discipleship and development along the way are too often overlooked. What if, while we focused on our own personal faith, we also encouraged and empowered the next generation regardless of where they are in life? What would that look like and what impact could it have?
When I was in high school, I had a youth pastor who, over time, really changed my life. When we met, I was a 16-year-old who hadn’t grown up in church. Something my pastor and his wife taught me through their actions was the concept of leading humbly from the bottom, or “leading up.” Leading up is the selfless act of supporting those above you through your influence and assistance with decision-making. This comes through mutual trust and true honor of the leadership you’re under. Leading up is also humbly accepting the confidence of Christ to be used in any way necessary to further the kingdom of God through the organization and leadership to whom you are submitted.
While the end goal is heaven, deep discipleship and development along the way are too often overlooked.
While in high school, I was encouraged to show up early to my youth group every week to simply help set up. Serving automatically takes your faith to the next level, but my youth pastor took it even further and started handing me small responsibilities to own while setting up: making sure the tables were up and in the right place, double checking to see if we had enough pens, getting check-in ready, and organizing the chairs that were messy from the week prior. When we think of leadership, we often think of the person up front or in charge. However, what happened in my life was that I started learning the importance of leading from the background or from the bottom – leading up.
What started as small bits of serving and minimal responsibilities continued to grow. I began uploading sermon slides and eventually joined the worship team. Over time, building trust also grew my influence. I was leading up without even knowing it, though usually not from the stage and still from a place of humility. This wasn’t just a life change; it was really my heart that shifted.
I started learning the importance of leading from the background or from the bottom – leading up.
I truly believe had I not been trusted with those small responsibilities from a young age, I wouldn’t be trusted with the level of leadership and responsibility I have now. As Luke 16:10 says, “Whoever can be trusted with very little, can also be trusted with much” (NIV).
What happens when you raise up leadership from a young age? Imagine if we had youth groups all over the world that encouraged students to preach. Imagine if on a Sunday morning a 13-year-old came up to you and felt led to give you a word from God. The world of Christianity would look completely different. If we wait until students are out of high school, we not only completely miss an opportunity to have middle and high schools changed for Jesus, but we also create a culture that delays God’s moving. But if we raise up leaders in small ways and teach a culture of leading up while in middle and high school, then when students graduate, they will already be equipped and ready to step out in ways that wouldn’t have been possible without the years of teaching, encouraging, and guiding. Leading doesn’t start from the top down; it starts from the inside out.
When young leaders are learning, failure is inevitable. However, making mistakes under guidance while you’re young is actually much less detrimental than when you are leading from the top when you’re older. Again, if we don’t start with small things, we can’t expect to reach the big things.
We have a generation of young people wanting and waiting to step up and step out. What is God calling you to do about it?
If you are a young person reading this, in what ways can you lead up with small responsibilities in your current context? How can you positively impact the leadership or ministry you’re under by building mutual trust and owning responsibilities to the best of your ability? And lastly, who is someone you can look to for teaching and guidance in order to learn how you can best lead up?
If you are someone who may already be the leader at the top, what are small responsibilities in your ministry or organization you can use to steward someone’s ability to lead? What time can you make in your week to equip individuals to both reach and exceed your level? This is true leadership.
We have a generation of young people wanting and waiting to step up and step out. What is God calling you to do about it?
About the Author
Kayla Johnson serves as the secretary at First Open Bible Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She is currently in nursing school and works at the local emergency department in Cedar Rapids. She has a huge passion for the next generation of young Christians and loves being part of the youth group, as well as leading the young adult ministry at her church.
In the summer of 2022, my wife Cheyenne and I moved to Los Angeles, California, where we would be youth pastors at Summit Christian Church. When we arrived, we were greeted by palm trees, sunshine, and tough soil to till. Many of the negative things we had heard about southern California were exaggerated, but there was some truth when it came to people and their attitudes toward Jesus. I quickly realized the church would not be the primary place where I would reach students, so I began to think outside of the box.
When it comes to reaching students, the best place to go is where they already are, so my first thought was the local public middle school. I reached out to my aunt who is a local sixth grade teacher, and she told me we could start a school club during lunch. I was shocked. I asked her if they knew I was a pastor and that I would be sharing about Jesus, and she assured me it was fine. You see, in California they allow every type of school club, and they cannot discriminate, even if it’s a Christian club. So, with prayer and a few weeks to prepare before the start of school, RISE Club was born.
The first week of school there was a “club rush” when all the clubs had tables with information for students. I was told just before the rush that our club needed to have at least four students at our first meeting or the club would be canceled. I knew that if I could attract students to my table, there might be a chance I could get them to come to the club. Not knowing what to expect, I bought cheap toys from Amazon, chips, drinks, and stickers that students could win on a prize wheel. I had hundreds of students come to the table, we handed out over 200 flyers, and at the first meeting of RISE Club…no one showed up. I went out into the hallway and grabbed four students who recognized me as the “wheel guy” and invited them into the room. All four of those students got saved that day and became the core team that helped us start RISE Club.
At our second meeting, we dreamed aloud that RISE could be a place where students could build faith, have fun, and help their school. This model has worked very well, and RISE has become the source of most of the students in our church’s Wednesday night youth program. Each week at the club, we open by having a wheel of prizes for kids to receive; the catch is, the only way to spin is to bring a friend or to be a new member of the club. After this, we play a short game where the winner gets to (you guessed it) spin the wheel. To end each club meeting, we give a gospel presentation with a salvation invitation and a call to action.
Since the club’s founding in September of 2022, we have handed out 122 Bibles, had over 150 first-time decisions to make Jesus Christ Lord and Savior of their lives, and have been able to partner with the school to do service projects.
Since the club’s founding in September of 2022, we have handed out 122 Bibles, had over 150 first-time decisions to make Jesus Christ Lord and Savior of their lives, and have been able to partner with the school to do service projects. Our most recent project was a canned food drive for the Southern California fire victims.
This public school outreach, although extremely intimidating to start, has now become the highlight of my week. Seeing students far from God coming to know Christ has been worth everything. One of my favorite stories is about Ninette Vanhorn, a student Cheyenne and I met in the hallway and for whom God told us to be praying. Little did we know the reason she needed prayer. Rather than telling you her story myself, I encourage you to listen and absorb this impact statement from Ninette:
It mostly started when I was walking to class and saw Michael and Cheyenne. They invited me to the club, so the next week I decided to go. They were very welcoming. We started with a game then afterward we all sat down and started talking about Jesus. That is mostly where the club impacted me because I realized that I needed Jesus in my life. I was going through a hard time; I was suicidal and was close to just ending my life, so when I heard Michael’s words, I told myself in my head, “I need to come here more often…like, it’s gonna be better for me.” I started going again and again, and it really did get better; I began getting over suicidal thoughts faster, I was having so much fun, and I really liked it when we started reading out of the Bible. I made a lot more friends, and overall it’s a really good club. I know it can have a good impact on other people who don’t know Jesus. It can change their life just like it did mine.
Ninette has found freedom in Jesus and is now serving on our youth group’s worship team and in the children’s ministry and is inviting her family to our Sunday morning services. Even in Los Angeles, school outreach is possible and thriving. With prayer, God’s blessing, and a few willing students, schools can still be reached. If you are in Next Gen ministry and you have a heart to reach students, find a student or a teacher who believes in Jesus and take a risk on school outreach. It will not only be a blessing to the school, teachers, and students, but it will bless your soul, as well.
About the Author
Michael Zakarian
Michael Zakarian has been part of Open Bible Churches for his whole life, with a calling to be a pastor since the age of five. He graduated from New Hope Christian College in 2017 and met his wife, Cheyenne, during his first ministry assignment in Martinez, California. The two of them continued doing youth ministry together, first in Springfield, Oregon, at Waypoint Community Church, and currently in Tujunga, California, at Summit Christian Church. Michael currently serves as the Next Gen Lead for the Pacific Region of Open Bible.
