Development and Implementation of an Effective Training on Servant Leadership Among the Youth in the Gekomu II Seventh-day Adventist Church
Authors:   ,   Andrews University, Okemwa Fred 
Published: June 2023

Problem The Gekomu II Seventh-day Adventist Church has a membership of about 1,500. The youth account for 35% of this membership; however, many of these young people are unwilling to play active leadership roles in the church. The absence of leadership trainings for the youth to develop skills and acquire knowledge to enhance their leadership abilities is one of the causes for their lack of involvement in the leadership roles. As a result, the leadership strengths and talents possessed by these young people are underutilized thus affecting the overall leadership quality of the church. Method In response to the above stated problem, I conducted a training on servant leadership. Participants that took part in this training were young people (10 males and 10 females) of the Gekomu II Seventh-day Adventist Church. These young people were within the range of 18-25 years of age. During the training, various themes on Christian leadership were explored. In addition, the training involved workshop times for participants to gather in groups to practice some of the leadership skills learned during the sessions. Each participant was asked to complete an evaluation that was collected at the end of the workshop. This was to determine the impact of the training upon the participants. Focus groups, personal interviews, and reflective journals were the main means of evaluation. In both focus groups and personal interviews, participants were asked open-ended questions that were derived from the various subjects presented during the training. Participants were also asked to write reflective journals featuring their experience during the training. Results The assessments of the impact of the training revealed that the participants had a better understanding of the concept of servant leadership. Also, the participants were motivated and willing to serve in leadership capacities in areas of their spiritual giftedness. Conclusion. For youth to be effective in serving as Christian leaders they have to be trained on what good leadership entails. The Gekomu II Seventh-day Adventist Church must plan and effect periodic leadership trainings through which young people can have access to current information on Christian leadership. Also, church leaders of experience have a role to play in mentoring, empowering, and creating opportunities in which the youth will exercise their God-given talents and gifts to enhance their growth in becoming better leaders. The youth will also develop as effective Christian leaders if they have good examples to imitate. Therefore, church leaders, beginning with the elders, should live and exemplify the life of a servant leader. Leadership behaviors such as coercion and authoritarianism corrode the spirit of servant leadership and if tolerated will have ripple effects upon the development of young people as servant leaders. Setting an example of servant leadership is not an overnight endeavor but a continuous daily surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ who is the embodiment of servant leadership. Such daily surrender will be optimized through engaging in biblical practices.