Stephaan (left) and Steve (right) share their story at Auckland Summit Connect.
Auckland Bible Church’s youth group WIRED has become a place where young people are growing in their faith, building lasting Christian friendships, and where young adults are being equipped to lead the next generation.
Each Friday, around 20 teenagers gather for WIRED, alternating between Bible study nights and social events. Alongside its regular youth leaders, Auckland Bible Church has intentionally developed a team of youth interns. Youth Coordinator Steve McClymont says one of the biggest reasons is simple.
"The bottom line is that I'm old! I'm always going to be, to the youth, I'm always going to be dad... I'm not going to connect with them the same way they connect with each other."
The internship is designed to stretch young adults as they grow in leadership.
"We get them to lead small groups. We get them to interact with the youth. We try and encourage them to do mentoring. It really is an opportunity for them to stretch themselves in their faith—which is beneficial to them, but also to our youth."
The internships are flexible, recognising that many interns are balancing university study and other commitments.
Stephaan Jacques has been serving as a youth intern for six months, having previously been involved as a youth leader. Week by week, much of his ministry happens in ordinary conversations.
"We usually alternate between having a more kind of social, fun-focused event, and then the next week we'll do kind of a more study-focused event. Apart from that, a lot of it is just getting into the nitty-gritty with talking to the kids and having conversations and catching up every week."
Like any ministry, it comes with challenges.
"Everyone's different, every kid's different, so it sometimes can just be a challenge trying to relate to some kids. Some might be easy, some might be hard. But I think that's kind of the rewarding part, is getting to know kids and just being a part of their lives."
Growing future leaders
Steve sees the internship as leadership development, not simply filling volunteer roles.
"I see the interns growing in a lot of areas. Providing opportunities to serve in ways that they normally wouldn't is actually really beneficial to them."
He believes experienced leaders need to create space for younger Christians to take responsibility.
"I think sometimes it's quite good for us older Christians to maybe step back a little bit... Ultimately, I think we need to be able to step back and let the next generation take the reins."
That includes learning how to navigate difficult pastoral situations together.
"If we have a young person who is problematic in the youth group, it's actually really good for us to talk as a team and say, well, how do we approach this? How do we support the young person and support each other?"
Steve has also watched former interns become involved across the wider life of the church and beyond.
"We are blessed at ABC. A lot of our youth and youth interns, for example, get into the music team, they do other things. I've certainly seen some of them move on to other Christian ministries.”
The privilege of opening God's Word
For Stephaan, the greatest encouragement comes from the relationships that develop over time.
"The main thing that I really find the most encouraging is that when kids feel really comfortable around you, they just want to open up about everything that's going on in their life... it allows you a door into their life and actually being involved in what's going on in their lives. Usually Steve keeps coming in saying, 'You nearly done?' And usually it's just because me and the group of kids that I'm with just have a really great long chat about whatever we're talking about that day.”
A worthwhile investment
Steve encourages churches to consider investing intentionally in young leaders.
"One of the things I would say is that it's working for us. Anything that you can do that will be an impact into the next generation of Christians, whatever that looks like, I think is beneficial. And it's going to be beneficial for the church as a whole."
While he acknowledges that developing young leaders requires time and planning, he believes the investment is worthwhile.
"You've got to be prepared to put that time and energy in, but it’s worth it.”
