How do we help people understand what serving in youth ministry is really all about? I think a major hurdle in getting people to step up and invest in youth is their perception of what being a youth leader entails. We all know the prevailing image of a youth minister. He or she is a wacky young man who plays guitar, drinks Red Bull for breakfast, loves to play group games involving eating something weird or gross, and doesn’t have much depth. In essence, he or she is a Peter Pan-type who couldn’t really cut it in adult ministry, and so is relegated to working with youth. Therefore, the assumption is that any volunteers working with this person must not have any depth either. It is this Depth Perception Fail that can prevent quality volunteers from stepping up to serve.

One of my best youth leaders in recent years (Dan, who started as a volunteer, then became part-time staff and then full-time staff) almost didn’t become one due to this misperception. A seminary student at the time, he was invited by a fellow student (David) to come check out the ministry. Dan was surprised to hear David was helping out at a youth group, as David was more of an intellectual; and, in fact, soon would be heading off to pursue his Ph.D. That is, David didn’t fit the youth leader mold Dan had in his mind. Here’s how David responded: “Let me put it to you this way. I love to teach and mentor guys younger in the faith. In youth ministry, I’m given the opportunity to teach and serve as a mentor to a group of junior and senior high guys who are really hungry to grow. It’s pretty perfect.”

When framed that way, Dan thought, “That’s what I love to do, too!” He and his wife started serving immediately, and it has been quite fruitful for him and for the church.

I learned a lot from hearing about that conversation. It’s up to us as youth ministers to help reframe for our potential leader base as to what youth ministry is really about. It’s not that we don’t need the wacky extroverts who love games and excitement—but we need more than that. It’s crucial in youth ministry to find adults who love to teach and mentor young people who desperately need someone to invest in them. Students initially may show up because of a fun and crazy environment, but they’ll stick around because of deep relationships with mentors.

So, how do we get the word out to others? Maybe that would come in the form of a testimony on Sunday morning (if you’re allowed) or a video you could make of you interviewing one of your current leaders—one who doesn’t fit the youth leader mold—discussing what being a leader has meant for him or her. Maybe this person also could share personal hesitations about being a leader, as well as how those concerns evaporated once he or she started serving.

Unlike unicorns, mermaids or Peter Pan, the youth leader with depth is a legend who actually exists. It’s our job to spread the word.