In my first paper I examined the links between healthy youth ministry and the development of healthy congregations. In this paper I will be focusing on a theology and practice of servant mission leadership, as it relates to my own role as National Youth Ministry Co-ordinator in the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. This is in the context of the purpose of the Presbyterian National Youth Ministry Workgroup: to build healthy youth ministry throughout the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand^.

As I explore my current role in the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand, I will be using the Presbyterian Church’s call for "servant mission leadership" as a reference point. This is for two reasons. I believe that a theology and practice of "servant mission leadership" is central to my ministry. Secondly, a key element of my ministry is involving other people in the building of healthy youth ministry in the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. The building of healthy youth ministry in the Presbyterian Church will require people with servant attitudes, ability to provide focus for the mission of the church with young people, and an ability to be involved in God’s transformation of the church and New Zealand society.

I have drawn largely on two authors, Robert Greenleaf and Kennon Callahan. Greenleaf’s insights into servant leadership were in the 1970s a welcome contrast to the power-centred management focus of business and the church. The emphasis on values rather than outcomes is, I believe, close to the heart of Jesus’ leadership. My theology of leadership has been strongly influenced by Callahan’s concept of the missionary pastor – the one who recognises the mission field for what it is and leads the congregation to be an effective mission agent in that field.

Christian leaders serve God and God’s interests in the world first. Only secondarily do they serve people. Stevens and Collins point out that Christian leaders are called by Christ, rather than merely motivated by needs. That is a core element of the Presbyterian understanding of call to ministry, a concept central to my theology of ministry. Leighton Ford points out that the strongest leaders are "those who have received a strong affirmation of their personhood, in a way that frees them not only to lead a cause but also to serve others." This is outlined by Paul in the letter to the Philippians. Jesus, although having the nature of God, stooped to become one of us, showing us the true nature of a servant. This he did, without relying on public acclaim or personal reward. As much of my work at a national level is not seen on a weekly basis, as it was in the parish setting, I have to rely on a strong sense of motivation and calling rather than commendation.

I am challenged by the role modelling provided by Jesus in his relationship with the nation of Israel and his followers. Retrospectively, we see that Jesus in his life, death and resurrection fulfils the call of one nation, Israel, as it is outlined in the servant songs in Isaiah. Having lived up to the calling he has received from God to serve with his life, Jesus releases the servant role to the church, his people scattered throughout the world. Jesus embodies the character of servant at the same time as he transforms the corporate life of his followers.

This concept of servant leadership was popularised by Robert Greenleaf in the early 1970s. Greenleaf’s often-quoted introduction is as follows:

"The best test, and difficult to administer, is do those served grow as persons; do they while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society; will they benefit, or at least, not be further deprived?"

I find the "servant leader" concept invaluable as I consider my role as leader in a national team of Christians working alongside young people. I am not here to develop an empire in which the national church structure benefits. I am called to a task of leadership that equips others to be servant leaders in their relationships with young people in the community. My credibility as leader will not just focus on my "production of goods", but will also stem from my authenticity as a servant growing into a mature leadership approach modelled on the character of Jesus.

A central element of the life of Jesus was integrity. His claims to speak truth, and be truth, were backed up by a lifestyle consistent with those claims. Hopgood talks about the "spiritually grounded pastor" as being so dependent on the spirit of God that "you go back again and again for insight, inspiration, strength, and rest, and you can’t do anything in your ministry without these." Integrity in my ministry as National Youth Ministry Co-ordinator involves being seen to make decisions in the light of what I believe God wants. A year ago, a member of my present congregation challenged me to show that I was not succumbing to "trendy expedience" by promoting the latest approaches to worship and communication. To be seen to have integrity, I had to demonstrate that my practice was rooted in what I believed God called me to be and do. This person recognised my integrity when I talked openly about the deeply held values that had led me to being innovative.

Servant leadership is marked by a concern for people. The context of my ministry as National Youth Ministry Co-ordinator is the world of young people in Aotearoa New Zealand. I have stayed involved in youth ministry primarily because of my deeply held belief that young people need opportunities to discover the fullness of a relationship with God. One of the factors in my passion for youth ministry is my belief that children and teenagers are people as much as adults are. A young person’s experience of God is as valuable as that of an adult’s. Going even further, I would say that the experience of Christian community is a gift that may at times be more valuable to young people than mature adults. Why do I think this? Children and teenagers, by the nature of their personal development and social environment, are forming the values, beliefs, and relational skills that they will need for a lifetime. The transitions being faced by children and young people will shape not only their lives, but also the broader culture of the community in which they live.

Servant leadership is characterised by a focus on listening intently and reflectively to others in order to identify and clarify the will of the people. In the context of youth ministry co-ordination, listening involves gathering people to share vision in workgroups, in Youth Assemblies, and in seminars. My leadership at a national level serves as an amplifier for young people and leaders seeking to share their perspective with their church and community. At the same time, I am in a position to listen carefully to the perspectives of those whose hard work and vision has provided an inheritance for today’s young people.

My role as National Youth Ministry Co-ordinator is worked out in the context of a number of bicultural partnerships. The Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand recognises, in its structure and name at least, an inherent bicultural relationship between Maori and Pakeha members. The partnership implied in this relationship involved mutual respect and recognition of the unique contribution made by Maori culture to the contextualisation of Christianity in New Zealand. The many principles of the Maori-Pakeha relationship can be applied to the increasing partnerships being developed as the Presbyterian Church welcomes members who are immigrants from countries such as the Netherlands, the Cook Islands, Western Samoa, Niue, Tokelau, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia and Hong Kong. In my own local setting, the Methodist component of Tawa Union church brings with it a partnership with a Tongan congregation. I am in weekly contact with young people from Cook Island, Rwandan, Samoan, Tongan, Pakeha, Korean and Maori backgrounds.

What is the theological significance of such multicultural partnerships? I believe that God is uniquely revealed in each ethnic culture. A significant component of adolescent development is the formation of identity in relation to roots. The questions "Who am I", and "To whom will I belong?" are key to the life searches of teenagers and young adults. Young people in The Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand have an opportunity to explore Christianity through the eyes not only of their own ethnic origins but also through the eyes of other cultures. This is worked out on a practical level in my local youth ministry, in which ethnic variety is built into the selection of served food, the imagery used, and the settings of our programmes. At a national level I have the privilege of working with a policy workgroup consisting of representatives from Maori, Pacific Island and Pakeha perspectives on youth ministry.

I believe that trustworthiness is required in leadership of youth ministry at a national level. Hopgood writes that "trustability" comes as a result both of being known as reliable and being willing to trust others. He says that risk taking is not part of the characteristic of the trusted leader but is seen as a result of God’s call and power. People trust me and my ministry as they get to know me, seeing me "producing the goods" over a long period of time. I am trusted when I turn up when I said I will, and when I show competence in challenging situations. I am continuing to work on this, particularly as I find it hard to say no to tasks even though they may be difficult to carry out in a reasonable time period.

Building personal confidence in my ministry involves my being vulnerable as I reveal my values and beliefs, and as I allow others to do the same. I am currently teaching a course on small group leadership with Ministry interns at the local Bible College. The key learning throughout the whole course is the interpersonal skills of building community in a small group. Over three months I have shared my experiences and perceptions of life with this group in a way that has sparked willingness in the group to share deep aspects of their lives. In a similar way I have modelled self-evaluation in my interaction with youth workers and other congregational leaders, stimulating readiness among these people to ask hard questions of their own ministry.

Servant leaders accept and recognise others for their unique gifts and spirits, assuming their good intentions and not rejecting them as people. My ministry at a national level implies the recognition that each person in the Church is equipped by the Spirit, with different contributions to make. The effectiveness of my work is strongly linked to the extent of my networking across gender, age, and theological boundaries, and beyond the church. Callahan points out that effective leaders tend to work in the role of coach rather than as one who continually corrects. He explains that the purpose of effective leadership is to develop persons, rather than policies. When speaking to local congregations and their leaders I am most effective when I encourage them for what they are already doing rather than when I scold them for their lack of action. Indeed, if I am seen to be attacking leaders in any way they tend to become defensive or stay away from seminars on youth ministry. My role as National Youth Ministry Co-ordinator includes the development of intentionality in the church’s ministry with young people, even in the face of apathy, despair, depression, anger and passive aggressive behaviour. . The message I aim to leave wherever I go is "You can do it".

Greenleaf lists healing as one of the characteristics of servant leadership. This can be understood as the ability to help with the healing of difficult situations, or the capacity to help make whole those people and institutions with whom the servant leader comes in contact. As National Youth Ministry Co-ordinator I have the opportunity to stimulate the formation of healthy relationships within the church, as well as the development of healthy leaders. Callahan states that the "effective leader’s role includes the construction of new communities of reconciliation, wholeness, caring and justice – in the name of Christ. This is what healthy congregations is about - promoting a sense of interconnectedness, collegiality and trust between people sharing the call to ministry with young people and others in the Christian community.

Spears points out that "Servant-leaders" will use an ability to persuade and develop consensus, rather than resort to using positional authority to coerce people into compliance. I believe that this was a choice made by Jesus, illustrated in the temptation narrative. He struggled with the "easy options" of selfish use of power, playing to the crowd, and using the authority vested in position to get his way. In practice, Jesus chose to work as part of a community of vulnerable and fallible people who were often slow to understand his purpose and direction. I find that mutual dialogue and shared decision-making are essential tools for the development of vision and purpose in the national team of leaders. Without these, an atmosphere of suspicion, hostility and competition soon develops.

Another component of servant leadership is awareness – both general awareness and self-awareness. Spears comments that awareness aids the leader in understanding issues involving ethics and values, and enables one to approach situations from a more integrated, holistic position. As editor of Crumbs Youth Ministry magazine I have a mandate to share with those in youth ministry a broad spectrum of issues relating to work with young people. I recently had a letter of complaint from a reader who felt that Crumbs was little different to secular magazines. In my reply I explained that one of the purposes of Crumbs is to integrate the social sciences with the Biblical perspectives and goals we have as Christian youth leaders and policy makers. A poignant example of this occurred in 1997 when I noticed news items and statistics that indicated an alarming rate of youth suicide in New Zealand. As co-editor of Crumbs magazine, I commissioned four writers to develop succinct articles for youth leaders. The resulting issue of Crumbs magazine included both an analysis of the broad issues in relation to Christian youth ministry, along with pointers for action at local and national levels.

A key factor in my leadership at a national level is my awareness of my own leadership styles. This includes an ongoing appreciation of my own strengths and weaknesses, my motivations, and the conditions in which I react rather than act proactively. I am generally high in people orientation although highly motivated to achieve in relation to task orientation, which means that I often aim to achieve more than is humanly possible. I have a high capacity to engage in a number of projects at once. This means that I periodically experience difficulty in completing tasks on time. In response to this I am developing a strategy of contracting other team members to pick up time-consuming tasks that I don’t need to do personally. I am learning to limit my involvement in some projects even when I know I could do them well. When I fail to examine my own motivations and weaknesses I suffer for it, along with those who have to live with my stressed lifestyle and missed deadlines.

Greenleaf identifies foresight as the "central ethic of leadership". As National Youth Ministry Co-ordinator I aim to develop understanding based on the lessons of the past, the realities of the present, and the likely consequences of current decisions for the future. This involves skills of historical research and analysis, as well as skills of future projection. In the months before beginning in my present position, I had the privilege of developing a seventy-year overview of the Presbyterian Church’s national and regional staffing for youth ministry in New Zealand. I was able to explore the rise and fall of the Bible Class movement, and attempts at developing a Christian Youth movement to take its place. Insights gained in this exercise included the wisdom of developing a broad range of ages in the governance of youth ministry at local, regional and national levels. As National Youth Ministry Co-ordinator I make a point of helping members of the Presbyterian congregations think carefully about the likely future that will be passed on to future generations.

The characteristic of foresight is closely related to intuition and hope, both of which are core parts of my personality. In Hopgood’s words, I have a commitment to tomorrow, an "unwillingness to stop thinking about it." Easum talks about being "willing to concentrate on the opportunities rather than the threats." I am inspired by the foresight exemplified in his questions:

"What are the things congregations do today that no longer make sense?" Why do we insist on doing them? What are the implications of not doing them? Is it possible to redirect them toward relevant, redemptive ministries? What can we make possible today in our ministry to make our congregations more vital and relevant tomorrow?"

Another element of servant leadership identified by Greenleaf is conceptualisation, the ability to dream great dreams and think beyond day-to-day management realities. A member of a peer support group, in my previous position as parish minister, encouraged me with the words, "If anyone has permission to be crazy in the Presbyterian Church, it would have to be the National Youth Co-ordinator." I have taken those words seriously. Although I have responsibility for paying accounts, maintaining databases and answering requests for resources, I set aside time for thinking outside the square and developing new approaches to youth ministry. This happens most effectively when I am working with a group of lateral thinkers. Developments such as "alternative worship experiences" and the creative presentation of resources and workshops around New Zealand are stimulated by a commitment to bring fresh approaches to congregational ministry with young people.

Servant leadership is characterised by a commitment to the growth of people. Spears explains that the servant leader perceives the intrinsic value of people, a value that goes beyond their tangible contributions as workers. In terms of corporate leadership, this means a concern for the personal, professional and spiritual growth of everyone within an organisation. My ministry as National Youth Ministry Co-ordinator goes beyond providing skills and resources for youth-related tasks in church youth groups. Leadership training for youth ministry at national, regional and local levels includes space for personal formation.

An important part of personal development in youth leaders is the sharing of authority alongside responsibility. As I write this paper I am preparing to meet with a group of ministers and youth leaders in South Auckland to discuss the possibility of them hosting a national forum on youth ministry in 2000. I will be endeavouring to build a partnership in which the local group shares decision-making with me and the National Youth Ministry Workgroup. While I will have strong input into the focus of the forum, I hope to give this group the power to make decisions about the atmosphere and direction. Likewise, the group will need to share out responsibilities along with freedom to act, so that there is a strong sense of participation in the South Auckland area.

Having explored the character of the leader in terms of servanthood and people-orientation, I will now explore the mission goals of leadership as they relate to my role as National Youth Ministry Co-ordinator in the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. In this section I will examine the implications of outcome-based strategies relating to local congregations and regional structures relating to the growth of healthy youth ministry.

My primary focus as National Youth Ministry Co-ordinator is on equipping local congregations to recognise and achieve their God-given ministry and mission with young people. Central to my understanding of this is a deepening awareness of the ministry and mission of Jesus, and of the church’s role in living that out.

One of the tools I use when working with congregations and their leaders is the "Comprehensive Approach to Ministry with Children, Young People and Adults." Leaders are encouraged to explore the work of Jesus Christ, and in turn his people, in eight broad categories: advocacy, Christian education, prayer and worship, leadership development, pastoral care, peace and justice, evangelism and community. Using this scheme congregations discover that youth ministry is much broader than they had previously envisaged. With encouragement members learn to recognise and value youth ministry in its existing settings, as well as dream about new possibilities.

Callahan talks about the missionary pastor, as leader, being preoccupied with helping the grouping to discover fulfilment in its foundational searches. These foundational searches he identifies as individuality, community, meaning and hope. While Callahan is trying to steer the Church away from materialistic concerns, his approach here could easily be used to pander to consumerism. At the same time I see in the life of Jesus a concern for the fulfilment of persons, "life in all its fullness". I work with this pattern with the provision that the human searches identified by Callahan are lined up alongside God’s search for those who are poor, disadvantaged, neglected or excluded.

As a leader in the field of youth ministry I have potential to help individuals rediscover power in their own lives and destinies. I gain a great deal of satisfaction from the look on peoples’ faces as they realise that they can contribute to the growth of new generations. The most poignant example I can remember is at a women’s conference where Stan Stewart and I were the speakers. We were addressing the theme of "Welcoming the Stranger". We picked up the anguish felt by many mothers and grandmothers as they observed the disturbing youth suicide statistics. Every available copy of the Crumbs issue on youth suicide was snatched up. In response Stan pointed out that those present, individually and corporately could save the lives of young adults by befriending them in times of transition. People left that conference with a sense of hope.

The provision of this sense of hope is extended to whole congregations and communities. I believe that I have a role to play in helping congregations construct new communities of reconciliation, where wholeness, caring and justice are experienced in the name of Jesus Christ. Obviously the birth and growth of various types of youth groups is a central part of this community development. I have a vision of the birth and development of new congregations specifically designed to be hospitable for emerging generations. In a broader sense, I am working on ways of encouraging congregations to develop their wider communities as places of reconciliation between young and old.

My role as National Youth Ministry Co-ordinator involves a degree of leadership in sharing new theological directions and specific, shared purposes for youth ministry. Every two years I have the privilege of hosting Youth Assembly, a national forum on youth ministry in the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. This is a key time for sharing vision, discerning together the implications of what it means to follow Jesus Christ in youth ministry at this time. The most recent Youth Assembly, held in July 1998, was on the theme of Breaking the Barriers. Leaders and young people were encouraged to go back to their own communities to build strong relationships between young and old, between the church and its wider community. The next forum, to be held in the year 2000, will focus on healthy youth ministry.

I believe that credibility as a mission leader comes only after being seen to join the team as a member, or a player. Corporate trust is becoming as important as personal trust. I make it clear in my work at a national level that I am a practitioner seeking understanding, as much as a coach providing a process for team development. I am a member of a youth ministry team in my own local parish. I am also involved in the development of worship and community with the aim of including children, teenagers, young adults, and their families. I work with a team of people in my local community to run a music centre for children and young people. Through my job as National Youth Ministry Co-ordinator I become involved in other congregations seeking ways of working with children, young people and families. Through research, writing, teaching, and networking, I seek to provide stimulus for local youth ministry in 450 parishes linked with the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Callahan identifies a strategic role for mission leadership: the "launching and leading of intentional missional teams to meet specific, concrete human hurts and hopes – both societal and individual – in the world". My role as National Youth Ministry Co-ordinator would be merely bureaucratic co-ordination if it were not for my weekly involvement in local youth ministry that takes seriously the longings and concerns of teenagers and young adults. Sitting down to share a plate of popcorn with a young person provides me with a regular reminder that youth ministry is about real people rather than church growth, the survival of the denomination, or another professional project.

As National Youth Ministry Co-ordinator I cannot take part in the leadership of mission in every congregation, as I would in my own local church. Nevertheless, I have a role in helping congregations notice and address the hurts and hopes of young people in their own local community. Once again, using the Comprehensive Approach with congregations has equipped people to think beyond the age-based models such as youth groups to a plethora of relationships with young people in the contexts of family, church community, schools and workplaces. As congregations work through this approach they are less likely to use the inward-looking phrase "We have no young people".

My ministry as National Youth Ministry Co-ordinator has its basis in the mission orientation of the church, rather than in a management-oriented preservation of the institution. Stevens and Collins clearly state, "The goal of leadership should conform to the goal of the church: mission in the world not ecclesiastical self-enrichment." I face a continual tension between the development of national and regional structures, and the growth of mission and ministry with young people in local contexts. In theory national structures should help the local congregation to do the work of Christ’s mission. In practice, local leaders and young people can become merely contributors to the projects of the National Youth Ministry Workgroup. Although I have a responsibility for overseeing the wise use of resources, I am committed to keeping my focus on positive leadership.

Leadership is relational rather than organisational. This was driven home to me when only five people turned up to a seminar on a comprehensive approach to mission and ministry with young people, children and adults in Hawkes Bay. The next day twenty-five people turned up at a seminar I ran for their congregation on developing fresh approaches to worship. For the first seminar I had relied on email messages and notices sent out by the sponsoring organisations. I learnt later that Presbyterians would have been put off by the venue, a Pentecostal church, and by the fact that the event was being run by strongly evangelical organisations. The Pentecostals were not inspired by the wording that had been used to describe my workshop. Three out of the five people who did attend the seminar knew me personally and attended for that reason. The second seminar followed a worship service in which I played a part, using energetic music, humour and movement. Even more important though, was the fact that this congregation had identified that the development of worship was a high priority and had asked me to work with them in this area.

One model I have found helpful is the development of competencies at local and regional levels. Roland Martinson talks about youth ministry focusing on "individuals with a living faith who love kids and possess the knowledge and skill to nurture faith and life in children, youth and their families." He goes on to describe the skills of developing a team of leaders who can work with young people. At a broader level, Martinson describes those with a competency in the area of congregational development, changing the culture of the local church so that young people will be welcomed and involved in the ministry and mission of the church. A further competency involves transformation of the wider community. Finally Martinson introduces the skills of research, networking and training that equip people in the first four levels of competency. He stresses that credibility and expertise at any level is based on the competency at an earlier level.

Mission leadership is being spoken about in business circles as being basically proactive rather than reactive, intentional rather than responsive. I am finding that taking this approach to co-ordination of youth ministry at a national level has freed me from the bind of administrative roles linked with involvement in Assembly structures. Likewise this approach has liberated me from merely responding to the requests of leaders wanting a programme to get them through the next meeting with their young people. My work is most effective when it is the result of focus and intention, as in workshops teaching local leaders the principles of choosing and adapting prepared material as well as creating their own home-grown programmes.

Proactivity is a key element in the most visible part of my work at a national level, the production of Crumbs, a youth ministry magazine and web site. Together with colleagues from the Anglican, Methodist and Catholic churches, I am continually developing and working with a two-year plan for Crumbs. This plan is built around topics that will grow healthy youth ministry. We want congregational leaders as well as youth leaders to be aware of the issues facing young people and those who work with them. Some of our issues of Crumbs are deliberately linked with forthcoming training or with correspondence courses and further reading material.

In 1997 a key issue of Crumbs focused on "Family and Youth Ministry", with the intention of broadening the mainline churches’ view of youth ministry to include the impact of family on leaders and on young people. A later issue focused on the prevention of various forms of abuse in youth ministry, exploring issues of power, and helping people to think ahead before they accepted volunteers or employees in their work with young people. At the same time as the magazine was being produced, a correspondence course on professional ethics was being developed and local churches were encouraged to develop their own codes of practice for youth ministry. The December 1997 issue of Crumbs, dedicated to the interaction between technology and relational youth ministry, was released as both a printed magazine and the initial contents of the Crumbs web site.

The development of Crumbs as a respected youth ministry magazine has taken over twelve years, of which only five have been linked with my ministry. I am reminded that the development of leadership in any field takes time, perseverance and continuity. Callahan points out that "it takes three to four years of living with a people to develop the shepherding relationships of mutual trust, respect, integrity, credibility, and confidence to emerge as a trusted leader." I was reminded of this when I asked if it might be wise to let somebody else take up my position with new projects. I explained that when I first began as National Youth Ministry Co-ordinator I took on five major projects, each of which had been completed in the year before writing this paper. My colleague remarked that I had worked hard to build networks and resources seen as credible in the eyes of Presbyterian leaders. In his opinion, now was the time for me to reap the results from the work, while developing fresh approaches.

One of the scariest moments in my job was when one of my key advisors took me aside and indicated that I should be working myself out of a job. I needed to be developing other people alongside me, so that in the event of my accepting a call to another position my work would not be lost. At first I took this as a threat. It took a week to come to terms with the fact that I wasn’t being given notice of termination of my contract. I came to realise that my effectiveness as a leader in the field of youth ministry would grow only as I helped others to master the skills I had developed. Hopgood’s advice helps me focus on the development of servant mission leadership in others: "The best of us must help the rest of us until the rest of us are the best of us"

The prospect of my present role coming to an end has brought about a clarification of my purpose and direction in the leadership of youth ministry in New Zealand and beyond. I am not content to co-ordinate the demise of youth ministry in the Presbyterian Church. I do not wish to be part of a bureaucracy that seeks its own survival. I want to be part of the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in God’s people, particularly in relation to mission and ministry with young people. I hope that in my remaining time I will be able to motivate old and young alike to make such a difference in their communities that God will touch the lives and cultures of young people in some way. I rely on God to give me the ability to "influence others so that believers will trust and respond to the Head of the church for themselves, in order to accomplish the Lord’s purposes for God’s people in the world".

The transformation of the church, and the equipping of those in youth ministry, requires leaders who themselves are being transformed by God. At the heart of my ministry as National Youth Ministry Co-ordinator is a relationship with God, in Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, that changes me. I am talking about more than communication skills needed for relating to young people and adults. I have been focusing on the quality of leadership that God calls me to, which is present in who I am as much as in what I do and how I do it.

When I first began research for this paper, I was curious to see the relationship between my national co-ordination of youth ministry and my denomination’s call for servant mission leadership at local and regional levels. I struggled through many of the insights covered in this paper when I first began parish ministry, fresh out of seminary training. The emphases on the development of humble partnership, integrity and vulnerability, as modelled by Jesus were not easy to live out in an ecclesiastical culture that often looked for professional caretakers. Now, in a national position, I struggle to find a community in which I can live out a life of open servanthood. My local church provides me with a test of reality – in which my national leadership is proved in the quality of my relationship with young people and other leaders.

In my current position, I believe I have a call and responsibility to lead congregations to be effective in ministry and mission with young people. Responding to that call requires careful nurture of relationships with people throughout the church and wider community. Without succumbing to servitude, I am intentionally looking for ways of serving young people and those in youth ministry in my local community and throughout the Christian community in New Zealand. Being a servant does not rule out making an impact. I believe that the quality of leadership required for the extension of mission among young people will be that which affirms and heals people. It will be leadership that persuades rather than controls. The influence I bring, I hope, will be founded in care, foresight, and a commitment to the growth of other people. My ministry as National Youth Ministry Co-ordinator depends on my proactive and consistent equipping the church at a systemic as well as personal level. Working with others in my team, I am focusing on releasing gifts and abilities in others, helping the church to work together healthily, and staying focused on the ministry of Jesus as our model.

National Youth Ministry Workgroup, PCANZ, March 4 - 6, 1999, focusing on servant mission leadership and its application in the context of National Youth Ministry.

Kerry Enright, Assembly Executive Secretary, PCANZ, in preparation for seminars on servant mission leadership, March 9 - 20, 1999

Keith Nisbet, Auckland Presbytery Co-ordinator of Youth Ministries, April 22 - 23, 1999.

New Zealand Presbyterian Email Discussion List, February 11 – 13, 1999.

http:www.greenleaf.com