4 Reasons To Lead and 4 Reasons Not To

One thing that makes InterVarsity unique is student leadership. From Bible study leaders, large group coordinators or emcees, outreach coordinators, and even apprentices, InterVarsity students lead their communities in a variety of ways. After being poured into by campus ministers and upperclassmen, they’re ready to pour back into the ministry. 

Having any role in leading others might be scary or intimidating. You might be asking yourself, What do I have to offer anybody? For some of you, becoming a leader is something exciting, expected, or maybe even something you’ve been ready for since you first got to campus. 

When I was reaching the end of my freshman year, I remember experiencing a rollercoaster of feelings when a leader told me that she thought I should be a Bible study leader the next school year. I had just started really following Jesus that year and knew hardly anything about Scripture. At the same time, I had led in plenty of other spaces. 

I didn’t know how to feel. Why me? But why not me? 

It's good for Christians to question whether becoming a leader is the only way to make a difference or play a significant role in someone else’s faith journey. To this, I think about the 12 and the 72. 

Jesus called 12 men to be his disciples. These were his closest friends, those he entrusted with the most spiritual authority and responsibility. But we also know that there were other people who sat at Jesus’ feet, who followed him, who were part of his ministry. In fact, we see him in Luke 10 sending out 72 and giving them very similar instructions that mirror those he gave to the 12 just one chapter before. 

The 72 are referred to as just “others.” But does that mean they were any less important? 

Similarly, is being an official leader in an InterVarsity chapter any more important than just being a faithful member of the community? 

I want to offer four reasons you should lead and four reasons you shouldn’t. 

Reasons To Lead 

1. You want to grow as a leader 

Whether you’ve led in other contexts before (say in a high school club or youth group) or not, becoming a leader in your chapter is an amazing way to grow in your leadership skills. You’ll normally be taken under the wings of your campus staff or an older student, and you can learn from their experiences. 

InterVarsity is also big on giving practical training, like how to lead a Bible study. Personally, I believe that leading small group Bible studies as a student helped me to be a good manager now in my work. It taught me how to build a tight-knit community and guide important conversations.

2. You’re gifted in hospitality 

One of the most important things InterVarsity leaders get to do is welcome freshmen and other new students to campus and into community. This is a critical time in a person’s life, sometimes full of anxiety and fear, and they need to meet warm, friendly people like you.   

If you have skills in hospitality — being intentional about talking to people, checking in on how others are doing, inviting them to hang out outside of official ministry activities, having snacks at gatherings, etc., —you can really make a difference in making someone feel welcome.  This is one way we show others the hospitality of Jesus. We can change not only their impression of friendship but also of their savior who intentionally loves and cares for them.   

3. You want to be a dedicated member of community and a dedicated follower of Jesus 

Leaders of ministries are usually those who are already faithful to the community. If you’re already dedicated to your InterVarsity community, then you should consider becoming a leader. If you’ve led in other contexts but want to learn how to lead like Jesus, you should consider becoming a leader. If you’ve given your life to Jesus and are faithfully follow him, you should consider being a leader.   It could be the next step in learning how to depend on him. 

In my opinion, leaders do not hold power over anyone else in the group but instead work to make sure the group is functioning well. They’re the ones who always show up for their friends. Especially for those who have a strong sense of responsibility, becoming a leader could be what you need to grow your commitment to your chapter. 

4. You don’t know everything 

Like I mentioned, when I first became a small group leader, I was a newer Jesus follower and had very little experience with the Bible. I think without becoming a Bible study leader in college, I wouldn’t know as much about Scripture as I do now, and my faith wouldn’t be as strong. 

Being a Bible study leader means you’ll have to spend dedicated time reading the Bible. You basically have to study the passage yourself once while planning and then again with your group. It’ll really make what you learn stick. You’ll also hear other people’s perspectives and interpretations, which will grow how you see God. 

Reasons Not To Lead 

1. You want to grow as a leader 

Wanting to grow as a leader might not be a good enough reason to choose to be a leader. If your idea of a leader is someone who gets to be in charge and have all eyes on you, being an InterVarsity leader might not be for you. 

Being a spiritual leader is more about servant leadership, putting others before yourself, going out of your way to love and care for friends, and putting your own ego and desires aside. Student leadership involves growing in humility as you learn and accepting that sometimes you’ll be wrong. If that’s not your idea of a leader and that’s not the way you want to grow, I’d advise not becoming an InterVarsity leader. 

2. You’re gifted in hospitality 

Being gifted in hospitality could be a great reason to choose not to become an official leader. While those with specific roles may be caught up in logistics or unable to talk to every new person who tries out the community, you can play a special and essential part in making sure new people are welcomed. Those in leadership can’t serve, care for, and welcome people on their own, and need the support of others in the community. 

While I was a Bible study leader and later chapter president, most of my closest friends in my chapter didn’t have official leadership roles. But without them, I would’ve been lost. They were always there to carry the load of making sure new people were invited and included in our hangouts, had deep conversations with underclassmen when I was planning our study, and offered me their friendship and encouragement. They still shared their gifts of care and welcome and were sometimes more important than I or some of the other leaders. 

3. You want to be a dedicated member of community and a dedicated follower of Jesus 

Remember those friends I just mentioned? Yeah, they weren’t any less spiritual than I was just because I was a leader. They came to every Bible study, retreat, and event. They loved Jesus and shared their wisdom with others. 

On top of that, a community is made up of both dedicated members and leaders. Without either, it's not a community. So, there’s nothing wrong with continuing to be a dedicated member of the community. It’s needed and it’s essential. 

4. You don’t know everything 

Now, there is some merit to not becoming a leader if you feel like you don’t know everything. Of course, no leader actually knows everything. But, for practical reasons alone, if you’re not sure you know Jesus or if you’re having doubts or struggling with your faith, that kind of thing can really spread in a group and make others question too, especially if it’s coming from the leader. Though yes, you don’t have to know everything to be a leader, there are some essentials of faith you should be fairly confident in before choosing to lead others. 

Examining Ourselves

See what I did there? Sometimes the reasons we should lead are the same reasons shouldn't and vice versa. It all comes down to what our intentions are. 

Are you hoping to become a leader for yourself so you can put it on your resume and look like you’ve got it all together? Or are you wanting to become a leader because you want to learn how to sacrificially serve others and journey with them as you all grow in your walks with Jesus together? 

In the last Harry Potter book, Dumbledore tells Harry, “…Perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well.” 

With what Christianity Today and others have deemed a leadership crisis taking place right now in the Church, the last thing we need are leaders who are in it for the wrong reasons. So, really take time to search yourself and question why you want to be a leader. Ask God to point out ways in which you could be seeking power and to reveal anything that isn’t of pure intention. Even if others think you should be a leader, make sure that’s what God wants from you right now too. 

And to those who choose leaders or follow them, there’s also wisdom needed. Are we putting student leaders in certain roles because of their charisma, charm, or bubbly personalities? Are we determined to notice those who might be overlooked? What gifts has God given them that make them perfect for serving in ways that we don’t usually think about? 

On both sides, let’s not replace wisdom and character with what seems shiny and attractive. Let’s choose to pursue God’s direction when deciding whether or not we should lead.