If your youth night feels more like a performance for the youth than a program led by them, it’s time for a shift. One of the most impactful things you can do as a leader is give each young man or young woman the opportunity to plan, run, and reflect on an activity of their own.

Yes, even the shy ones. Yes, even if it flops a little. Yes, especially if they don’t think they can.

Because the purpose of LDS youth activities isn’t just to have fun or check a box. It’s to nurture growth. And growth requires responsibility.

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Leadership Isn’t About Being in Charge—It’s About Learning to Serve

When youth lead an activity, they quickly discover the invisible layers:

• Who needs what information ahead of time?
• What if someone doesn’t show up?
• What happens when people don’t pay attention?

These small pressures build resilience and humility. They start to see leadership the way Christ modeled it: as service.

And that realization—that influence comes from love, not control—is one of the most powerful lessons you can offer as a leader.

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Use Youth Leadership in Church with Purpose

Youth leading youth isn’t a new idea—it’s a core principle in Church programs. But often, we delegate only the easy things:

• Conducting the meeting
• Choosing the game
• Giving a short spiritual thought

Instead, let them run the full night:

• Choose a theme (use mutual activity ideas or gospel-centered youth activities as inspiration)
• Plan and assign roles
• Communicate with adult leaders and peers
• Set up, welcome, clean up, and evaluate

Give them a basic template and then step back. Be present, be encouraging, but let them feel the weight and joy of ownership.

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Three Ways to Set Them Up for Success

1. Provide a Planning Sheet
   Use a simple worksheet (we include these in the Forged in Faith kits) that walks them through logistics, gospel purpose, and team roles.
2. Do a Mini Rehearsal
   Run a 10-minute dry run the Sunday before. Have them walk through the timing and assignments. This helps ease nerves and avoids surprises.
3. Follow Up With Encouragement
   Even if it didn’t go perfectly, find what did work and say it. Highlight the courage it took to lead. Ask reflective questions like:

“What was the hardest part?”
“What would you do differently next time?”

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Let the Quiet Ones Shine

Not every youth is loud. Not every youth wants the spotlight. But every youth needs to know they are capable of contributing in meaningful ways.

That’s where youth spiritual growth activities overlap beautifully with youth leadership in church: you don’t need charisma to lead. You need conviction. And the best way to develop that is through real-world, spirit-centered responsibility.

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The Forged in Faith Solution

The Forged in Faith program is built around youth leadership training in the Church. Every step, activity, and module is designed to prepare youth to lead with confidence, not perfection.

We believe that youth ministry ideas (LDS-style) should be hands-on, not hypothetical.

Our toolkits help you guide them from assignment to action, and from action to testimony.

Explore the full Forged in Faith curriculum and see how easy it is to hand over the reins without losing gospel focus.

Let them run the show—because if they can lead now, they’ll be ready for anything later.