Student Leadership

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

1 Timothy 4:12

Young Rising is part of a multi-generational church that deeply values young people and their important role in shaping the kingdom of God here in Canberra and beyond.

As well as teaching and encouraging our young people in their faith, and creating a space for them to grow in their walk with Jesus, we also believe in releasing young people to serve God in meaningful, life-giving, and practical ways.

Young Rising Leadership

At Young Rising, we have a team of adult staff and volunteers who create structure, keep everyone safe, and provide pastoral care and support. These include our Youth Pastors, Danny and Skye, our Youth Leaders, and our dedicated Mentoring Team.

Alongside this, we have a growing team of young people serving as Emerging or Student Leaders in a number of spaces on Friday nights.

Emerging Leaders

College-aged students (Grades 11–12) who have been recognised for their leadership qualities and have been invited to join the Young Rising Youth Leadership team. These students go through the wider church volunteer processes, including applying for a free Working with Vulnerable People (WWVP) card, providing two character referees, and completing the LifeUC Care & Protection Training. If you’d like to become an Emerging Leader, the first step is joining our Student Leadership team. That’s where we look for and invite our future Emerging Leaders.

Student Leaders

Open to students in Grade 7 and up, these students help create the culture on Friday nights and during Sunday services. Student leaders will complete our Student Care & Protection Training, and those aged 16 and over will also need to apply for a free WWVP card and provide two character referees.

Students can express interest by filling out our Student Leadership Form.

Student Leadership:
Roles and Expectations

Here’s what we ask of you:

  1. Have a personal faith.
    We don’t expect you to have worked out every area of your life, but we do expect that you’ve made a decision to follow Jesus and are letting your life be shaped and guided by Him. Reading the Bible and praying on a regular basis are so valuable for becoming more like Jesus.

  2. Be engaged in a community of believers.
    Ideally, that means a Sunday service as well as Friday nights. On Life Group nights in particular, we expect you to be an engaged, present, and encouraging member of your Life Group. Even if you aren’t actively helping to lead your Life Group, be someone your leaders know wants to be there.

  3. Take personal responsibility.
    We expect you to check Planning Center Services, respond to roster requests, turn up on time when you are rostered, and let us know early if you can’t. You don’t need a phone. You can check your roster on a desktop, laptop, tablet or parent’s device, and it’s fine to ask a parent for help. Don’t let this be your parent’s job though! Student Leaders should be excited to serve and plan ahead for the next time they are scheduled.

  4. Be someone who sees others.
    The best part is that you don’t have to be an extrovert to do this well. Some of the best people at noticing others are those who have struggled to connect or know how hard it is to take that brave step of introducing themselves to others. Whether you have a crowd of friends, or still haven’t found your people, we expect Student Leaders to step outside of their own comfort zone, notice the people who are alone, and help them feel welcome and find their place.

Here’s what you can expect from us:

  1. A safe place to grow and make mistakes.
    Youth isn’t a high-stakes environment. Whether you’re in a season where you’re struggling to connect with God, or you just completely forget the rules of the game you are running, we’re here to help and there’s so much grace. You’ll have supportive youth leaders with you every step of the way.

  2. Child-and-youth-safe practices and processes.
    Each of our youth leaders goes through a careful vetting process and we have strict practices and procedures in place. Our leaders don’t contact students through personal social media or personal phone numbers. We use official communication methods, including Church Center Groups, a digital Clearstream mobile number, and the Youth mobile phone to communicate with young people. Emails will come from one of our Youth Pastors, Danny and Skye, from their church email address.

  3. Training that you can take with you.
    Want to learn how to make a good coffee, shoot low-light event photography, operate a lighting desk, or manage events? We do all of this every Friday night, and our experienced youth leaders can train you in these skills (and more).

  4. Ongoing discipleship.
    Along with our regular Friday night teaching and discussions, we will have extra opportunities for you to be discipled by youth leaders as we make more space to equip you as a Student Leader and as a follower of Jesus.

Where can I serve?

We have a range of spaces you can serve in as a Student Leader:

Welcome & Connect: helping to make our pre-service social time fun for everyone. This might involve being a hang-time host for outdoor games, playing card games, setting up a craft activity, or meeting new people and helping them find their place.

Check In Team: checking in students (and leaders!) as they arrive and registering first-time visitors. This is a great way to learn everyone’s names.

Hospitality: making hot or cold drinks with our barista team, preparing or serving dinner on $5 Feed nights, and setting up snacks or special treats.

Logistics: setting up and packing down, or helping with event management behind the scenes.

Life Group Leadership: leading a life group alongside an experienced youth leader. This might be a group with your peers, or in a younger group.

Speaking & Service: MCing, sharing a PowerPreach or running a game.

Creative Arts: playing or singing in the youth band.

Production: running lighting, sound, or visual media, or helping with social media, photography, and camera operation.

Interested in joining the Student Leadership team?

Complete the application form, or check out the FAQS below if you have more questions.

Student Leadership Form

FAQs

  • You’ll need to be at youth from 5:30pm on the nights you’re rostered. In 2027, we’re also hoping to run some training and planning sessions for the Student Leadership team on Sundays as the team grows.

  • No. In fact, we suggest you don’t! We’d love you to keep being a student and not spend every week serving. It’s so important to be part of a service and simply enjoy connecting with God and your friends, too.

  • Yes, up to two. For example, you might be part of the Creative Arts team and also serve on Check In or Welcome & Connect. You won’t be rostered on every Praise night, so this gives you a way to serve during the social part of the night when you’re not in the band.

  • That’s totally okay. You’ll have a leader looking out for you, and we’ll train you in whatever role you take on.

  • Just let us know as soon as possible. The best way is to text our Clearstream number (or ask a parent to, if you don’t have a mobile). Let us know why you can’t make it, so we know you’re okay, then hit “Decline” in Planning Center.

  • Yes! We’re really big on honouring parents, and serving is a commitment for them too, since they’ll need to get you to youth early. If they’d prefer you didn’t join yet, there may be good reasons, and it’s worth taking their perspective on board.

  • Nope! You just need a good attitude.

  • We’ll be in touch as soon as we can to let you know the next steps.

  • Definitely, for next year. It’s helpful for us to know you’re already interested, and it means you can hit the ground running when you start Grade 7.

  • Church Center groups let us communicate with everyone at once. You’ll need to log in to Church Center on a computer, phone or tablet to see the chat. It’s a great option for safety, because no mobile numbers are shared and every group has at least two adults in it.

    Text messages come from Clearstream, a digital mobile number that several members of our team can access. Because multiple people can see the messages, it’s a safer way for us to communicate with you directly. If you don’t have your own mobile, we can send these texts to a parent instead.

    Emails only come from our Youth Pastors, Skye and Danny, using their church email addresses. Most will be automatic emails from Planning Center asking you to accept a roster. If you’d prefer, we can also contact you by email rather than by text or Church Center.

  • You’ll need to log in to Church Center to fill out the Student Leadership Form. It’s best to do this with a parent or guardian, since you’ll need their permission anyway, and they can help with logging in. Older students who already use Church Center and Planning Center are welcome to fill it in themselves. Just make sure you have your parents’ permission.