When Mylene Taylor agreed to become the youth minister at Our Lady of Grace, she insisted that the only way to do it was if it was the teens helped her run the ministry. Peer ministry is key to Our Lady of Grace youth ministry: teens plan the nights, help setup and clean up, welcome everyone, serve as the MCs, run the games, give witness talks, lead small groups, and even lead prayer. Mylene simply keeps track of time and behind-the-scenes logistics, and the teen leaders do everything else.
She started off by training her peer ministry team and mentoring them over the years. As those leaders became more seasoned ministers, they then trained the next group of peer ministers. Now, many years later, there is a healthy cycle of the upperclassmen training younger teens to be peer leaders. Mylene and her adults mentor the peer leaders, and the peer leaders have real ownership and exercise real leadership. They are trained to be relational, so they build intentional friendships with all youth ministry participants and help to foster a sense of community.
Are you empowering and mentoring the young leaders in your ministry? Do you have a peer leadership team? Let us know how we can help you get started, or maybe even provide a Courageous Youth Ministry Training for your peer ministry team.
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