Many people think the ideal youth leader is someone who wears the latest clothes, listens to the latest music, sports the latest haircut and body piercing" but most importantly, is young.

There are good reasons to have young leaders. People in their late-teens and early-twenties usually have lots of time, energy and enthusiasm, and a natural affinity with the youth culture.
Yet one of the main reasons we have a preference for young leaders is due to the flawed mission strategy that expects adults to be the main agents in building bridges with non-Christian youths.

You see, we rightly identify youth as living within a distinct culture, and correctly recognise the need to bridge this cultural distance and penetrate the world of the teenager. Yet we often presume that this task must be performed by the leader, who must become "incarnate' within the teenage world. To achieve this we select leaders who can think, look and speak like teenagers" something best achieved by younger people.

However, the best person to do frontier evangelism within this foreign culture is a person as close to the target as possible. So, the best person to reach a year nine youth with the gospel is another year youth nine who already knows Jesus, not an older leader masquerading as a teenager.

Consequently, if we want our teenagers to be front-line missioners, they need to be radical disciples of Jesus. To equip them for this task, they need leaders who recognise the traps and temptations of the youth culture, and can provide specific warnings as they apply God's word.

Ironically, some of the best people to do this are the older leaders who live outside the world of the teenager.

This doesn't mean that youth leaders need to be thirty-something in order to be effective. However, it does show the importance of having older and mature men and women discipling younger youth leaders.

Yet, it also debunks the myth that you have to retire from youth ministry at 25. Christian teenagers are happy to receive leadership from people who think Linkin Park is the name of a new housing development, and they're happy to bring their friends along to sit under your ministry.

This is great news for churches that have few or no 18-30's to lead their youth. Even the "geriatrics' amongst us (such as this 34 year-old) can still make great youth leaders. And it means that I don't have to try and act like Snoop Dogg (apparently he's a rap singer, not a plush toy) in order to "connect' with them.

Teenagers have plenty of other teenagers to hang with. What they really need are leaders who will offer radical Christian discipleship. Are you old enough for the challenge?

PS. Linkin Park is the name of a band…

Jodie McNeill is a youth ministry trainer with Anglican Youthworks. Contact him at jodiem@youthworks.net