EAGLE EYRIE — Taylor Smith, a high school sophomore, feels that God may be calling her into some type of youth ministry. So in March when she joined more than 500 other youth at Eagle Eyrie for Virginia Baptists' Senior High Weekend, Smith was not only excited about speaker David Rhodes and the John Ivins Worship Band, she was also eager to participate in the next level of training for youth emerging leaders.
Raised in the church, Smith became a Christian when she was 13. As a member at North Run Baptist Church in Richmond, she has been active in worship, Sunday school, GAs, Bible studies, puppet ministry and various choirs and summer camps. When she was in the ninth grade her youth minister identified her as an “emerging leader” and suggested that she consider participating in the emerging leaders tracks at Senior High Weekend.
An emerging leader is a Christian of any age who is sensing a calling from God to ministry and service. The emerging leaders tracks are two sequential courses, offered annually at Senior High Weekend, that are intended to help youth emerging leaders explore their calling by assessing their spiritual gifts and personality types and then discussing how these attributes might relate to various ministry opportunities.
Like Smith, most of the participants in the emerging leaders tracks have been identified and encouraged by youth leaders. In the level one course, youth are given a spiritual gifts assessment survey. Participants who continue in the level two course take a modified version of the Meyers-Briggs personality inventory.
During Senior High Weekend, the emerging leaders tracks meet for three one-hour sessions on Saturday. On Sunday these youth choose one of the other special interest conferences that are offered to all participants.
The leader of Smith's level one course at the 2006 Senior High Weekend was Corey Fields, who at that time was a student at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond and an intern with the Virginia Baptist Mission Board's emerging leaders team.
Smith decided to participate because she felt that God might be calling her into Christian ministry. “I hoped to learn a little bit more about the plan God has for my life, and the ministry God would like me to participate in that uses my spiritual gifts.”
When Smith took the spiritual gifts assessment, she was surprised that her highest rating was in the area of “pastoring.” “But it was funny,” she said, “because when I told my youth group, they were very encouraging and said, ‘Taylor, I could see you being a pastor.' ” She also learned that there are many ways to use one's spiritual gifts to minister. “You don't have to be behind a pulpit every Sunday to minister,” Smith said.
Participants in the emerging leaders tracks also develop a project, based upon their spiritual gifts, and implement it in their home church under the supervision of their youth minister. “From the beginning, we want them to reinvest their gifts and leadership in the local church or community,” explained Ken Dibble, youth ministry strategist for the VBMB's emerging leaders team. Some of these emerging leader projects have included youth playing the piano monthly for worship, coordinating their youth group's work with a homeless shelter, and giving stewardship testimonies.
For her project last year, Smith chose to be involved in North Run's Sunday morning worship service by making announcements and reading Scripture. “I thought that it would be a good way for me to be more comfortable up on stage doing what the pastor does, which relates to my spiritual gift of pastoring.” Smith says that the project turned out well. She learned a lot about public speaking and from this experience has felt comfortable enough to speak about summer mission trips too.
After her experience last year at Senior High Weekend, Smith was enthusiastic about participating in the level two course this year. “Taylor was the first person to email me and say, ‘Yes, sign me up for the emerging leaders track again,'” said Dibble.
Twelve other youth also returned for the second level course, which was led by Melissa Scott, minister of youth and education at Colonial Avenue Baptist Church, Roanoke. Danny Quirin, minister of youth at Bonsack Baptist Church, Roanoke, led 30 youth in this year's level one course.
In the level two course, Smith discovered that her Myers-Briggs personality type is an “ISFJ” (Introversion, Sensing, Feeling, Judging). “That means I'm an introverted person, I'm a practical thinker, I follow my heart in situations, and I like things under control,” she explained. While she wasn't as surprised by the results of the personality inventory as she was by those of the spiritual gifts assessment, Smith found it useful to learn how her personality type fits well with certain jobs and not as well with others.
Scott says that she has seen other youth emerging leaders benefit from the personality inventory in similar ways. “One student was assessed with the spiritual gift of teaching, but found that her teaching project didn't go very well,” said Scott. “The next year she learned from the personality inventory that her personality type was much better suited to private tutoring than to teaching large groups. So she was able to pursue her calling while using her spiritual gifts in ways that were consistent with her personality.”
Taylor Smith doesn't know yet exactly where her calling to ministry will take her. “But I can say that I'm definitely open to where God will lead me,” she said, “and I'm excited about going where God leads me.” For now, she's challenging herself to take a leadership role in her youth group and to try some new activities. She's also grateful for the opportunities that Senior High Weekend has given her to explore her calling and to grow in her relationship with God, and she strongly recommends the emerging leaders tracks to other youth.
“I think it's a great program for helping you understand yourself better and understanding what God is calling you to do.”