If you’re building a preteen leadership program, tasks are a great place to start. But they’re not the goal. The goal is helping preteens grow into leaders who understand how to serve, how to work with others, and how to follow Jesus in the middle of it. That takes a little more intention than just handing them a job.
When I first started trying to build a preteen leadership program, I did what I think most of us naturally do. I gave preteens jobs. Make announcements, run slides, help at check-in, assist in small groups. All good things, and honestly, a great place to start.
But over time, I started to realize something. I didn’t actually have a leadership program. I had a group of helpful preteens completing assigned tasks.
That realization shifted how I thought about it. If we want to develop leaders, we have to build something that goes beyond giving them things to do. We have to help them grow into who they are becoming as followers of Jesus and as leaders in his Church.
Here are four elements we’ve built into Team Ion that helped make that shift.
Skill Training
Instead of just assigning roles, we teach one skill each month. Everything from room setup to upfront speaking to serving in other ministries. We take time to show them how to do it well, not just expect them to figure it out. At the end of each month, they take a simple test, and when they pass, they earn a button for their lanyard that shows they’re ready to serve in that area. It gives them a clear sense of progress and ownership.
Instead of just assigning roles, we teach one skill each month. Everything from room setup to upfront speaking to serving in other ministries. We take time to show them how to do it well, not just expect them to figure it out. At the end of each month, they take a simple test, and when they pass, they earn a button for their lanyard that shows they’re ready to serve in that area. It gives them a clear sense of progress and ownership.
Team Building
Every week includes something that builds the team, not just fills time. Games are part of that, but the goal is bigger than having fun. We want them to see themselves as a team, not a group of individuals completing tasks. That shift has made a big difference, especially as they move into junior high. They carry that sense of “we’re in this together” with them.
Every week includes something that builds the team, not just fills time. Games are part of that, but the goal is bigger than having fun. We want them to see themselves as a team, not a group of individuals completing tasks. That shift has made a big difference, especially as they move into junior high. They carry that sense of “we’re in this together” with them.
Leadership Lesson
Each week, we open Scripture together around a leadership theme. Each month focuses on one quality - humility, prayerfulness, faithfulness, and others like that. They journal, they discuss, and they process what it looks like to actually live that out. This has become the core of the whole thing. The skills matter, and the serving matters, but this is where we’ve seen the deepest change in how they think and lead.
Each week, we open Scripture together around a leadership theme. Each month focuses on one quality - humility, prayerfulness, faithfulness, and others like that. They journal, they discuss, and they process what it looks like to actually live that out. This has become the core of the whole thing. The skills matter, and the serving matters, but this is where we’ve seen the deepest change in how they think and lead.
Leadership Challenge
Once a month, they take on a challenge as a team with no adults in the room. It might be planning an ice cream party or organizing a volunteer appreciation Sunday. We break it into smaller steps and let them work through it together. At first, it’s rough. They struggle, talk over each other, and don’t know how to move forward. But over time, they begin to figure it out. They learn how to lead, and just as importantly, how to follow. When leaders come back in and process it with them, you can see the growth.
Once a month, they take on a challenge as a team with no adults in the room. It might be planning an ice cream party or organizing a volunteer appreciation Sunday. We break it into smaller steps and let them work through it together. At first, it’s rough. They struggle, talk over each other, and don’t know how to move forward. But over time, they begin to figure it out. They learn how to lead, and just as importantly, how to follow. When leaders come back in and process it with them, you can see the growth.
If you’re building a preteen leadership program, tasks are a great place to start. But they’re not the goal. The goal is helping preteens grow into leaders who understand how to serve, how to work with others, and how to follow Jesus in the middle of it. That takes a little more intention than just handing them a job.