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 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 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.

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.