A youth minister was talking to one of his students about the need of their group for more adult leaders. He told the student, “What we need are some college students. College students make the perfect youth leaders.” Was he right?

Yes, college students do make the perfect youth leaders. They are young enough to remember what it was like to be a teenager. The youth culture they grew up in was not that different from the youth culture students today are growing up in. College students have instant credibility with a lot of youth. They speak the same language, know the same music, and have seen the same movies.

College students do make the perfect youth leaders. Most of them are single and they tend to have more flexibility in the schedules. Most of them are full of energy and staying up for your all-night bowl-o-rama, anchovy pizza lock-in is not a problem for them. They are at their physical peak and they have great hair. Students will love being around them.

College students do make the perfect youth leaders. When they have made a commitment to Christ, they are passionate about it. They listen to Chris Tomlin music in their cars and download podcasts from John Piper. They can sit at Starbucks for hours talking about what the church needs to do to really reach this generation. Many of them have the kind of heart that you want in a youth leader.

Of course, college students often are pretty fickle. They are gung-ho about working with youth ministry . . . until it interferes with their preparation for Calculus or the opening of a new show. College students often have difficulty hanging in with a church if they don’t feel “fed” or “connected.” When college students bail from your youth ministry or show up sporadically, it can be a real disappointment to your students. Maybe college students aren’t the perfect youth leaders.

College students also have a hard time seeing the difference between where they are developmentally and where your 14 year old students are. They can confidently tell you that students don’t want to play games at church. What they really mean is that they don’t want to play games at church; they just have a hard time seeing why Junior High or High School students would be any different. Maybe college students aren’t the perfect youth leaders.

So, which is it? Are they perfect youth leaders or not?

Choosing youth leaders because they are young . . . or because they are old uses the wrong criteria. Does the person love God passionately? Is he or she growing in a commitment to Christ? Does he or she like teenagers and like being around them? Does he or she have the maturity to be an adult leader and the winsomeness to be a friend? Is he or she reliable? If you find a college student that meets those criteria, get him on your team. If you find a grandmother who meets those criteria, get her on your team, too.