Youth Alpha

We can learn a lot from the life of Joseph. He was a true leader of his family, and of his generation.

The great leaders of today like Alan Sugar, Alex Ferguson, Steve Jobs and Nelson Mandela all had something that made them great.

Whether it was vision, creativity, commitment or longevity, each of them have been outstanding leaders in their fields.

If we are to lead well in our Youth Alpha courses, and indeed in other areas of our lives, then we are going to need to be people of vision as we dream what this course could look like in our setting.

We are also going to need to be creative as we roll it out in our context.

And we will need to commit for the long haul; both for the duration of the course and the necessary follow up that comes after.

We can learn a lot from the life of Joseph. He was a true leader of his family, and of his generation.

Here are 3 simple things we can learn from his life.

1. Launch

Joseph was a man of vision. He dreamed a lot and when he shared these dreams with his family, he got laughed at, ridiculed, and even bullied.

We too must search for a God given dream and vision for our settings, and we should take time to share and communicate these things.

We are warned in Proverbs that “without vision the people perish” [Proverbs 29:18] and so we must continually listen and strain our ears for what this is in our context.

“without vision the people perish”

We also need to remember that Joseph had these dreams when he was still young and if we’re older then we must have the humility to listen to the thoughts and dreams of those young people around us.

Great leaders have great vision. What is your vision for your Youth Alpha course, for your youth group, your school, your church, your community or your family?

2. Lead

Joseph led no matter what his circumstances were.

Whether he was sold into slavery, wrongly accused, put into prison, forgotten about or standing in front of the Pharaoh, he continued to lead and set an example to those around him.

Too often we let circumstances or failure hold us back from leading well.

Joseph became a leader of his generation, but this leadership started when he was in prison as he led those around him. Set aside your excuses and begin to lead from where you are.

Great leaders lead no matter the circumstances. What are you allowing to hold you back from leading well?

"Too often we let circumstances or failure hold us back from leading well."

3. Last

Finally, we need leaders who last in an instant world.

Joseph stayed true to his calling the whole way through his life and kept on leading right until the end.

Far too often in leadership, particularly with young people, we maintain such a short term vision.

I once heard it said that we shouldn’t overestimate what we can achieve in one year, but we also shouldn’t underestimate what we can achieve in 5.

For more than a decade Joseph led at the front of government, gaining integrity, trust and relationships. Let’s do the same in our areas of leadership. Let’s keep going!

So keep launching, keep leading and keep lasting wherever you are!

Rick Hill is 27, and the youth leader at Carmoney Church, Belfast. We caught up with him on a Youth Alpha training tour day, as he’s looking to run Youth Alpha soon. Let us know how it goes Rick!

Thinking of launching Youth Alpha yourself? For loads of tips then check out the Youth Alpha website, or contact us at Youth Alpha Towers on youth@alpha.org, There's also advisers across the world to help you.