Keychain Leadership in a Church Discipleship Strategy
In their book Growing Young, Kara Powell, Jake Mulder, and Brad Griffin point out that while every church grows old in terms of age of existence, strategic churches can actually simultaneously grow young. Backed by research and packed with practical ideas, Growing Young shows how churches can intentionally engage the next generation — for pastors and church leaders seeking a sustainable discipleship strategy. One of the strategies they highlight is what they call “keychain leadership”, handing over real responsibility and influence to young people within a church-wide discipleship plan.
Rooted can be an ideal setting to practice keychain leadership and hand off leadership roles to the next generation as part of your church’s discipleship strategy.
Why Rooted Resonates with Young Adults
Rooted creates a unique environment for churches to empower the next generation with meaningful leadership opportunities and to build a repeatable church leadership development pipeline. At Rooted Network, we’ve seen more and more young adult ministries facilitating the Rooted experience effectively, and churches without a dedicated young adult ministry discovering that Rooted attracts this demographic in surprising numbers for next generation engagement. It makes sense, young adults thrive in experiential learning environments. They don’t want another classroom lecture; they want to practice, experience, and do. Instead of hearing a talk about fasting and prayer, they’d rather experience fasting and encounter God in prayer themselves. Rooted is built for that kind of hands-on discovery rooted in the Acts 2 discipleship rhythms.
From Participation to Leadership
And it’s not just about participation, it’s about leadership. Rooted offers natural ways to invite young adults into key roles that grow both their faith and their leadership skills through a clear discipleship strategy for churches. Here are three of the best entry points:
1. Facilitator: Train Young Adult Small Group Leaders
With the right support, anyone 18 or older can facilitate a Rooted group — ideal for small group facilitator training in your church. If they meet your church’s leadership requirements, prior experience shouldn’t be a barrier. Rooted itself provides the training: ten weeks of in-person weekly training where facilitators are equipped, encouraged, and invested in, regardless of age as part of the Rooted experience.
Think of it as on-the-job training. In my church, for example, facilitating a Rooted group is actually required before someone can lead any other group. For young adults, it’s the perfect first leadership step, highly structured, closely supported, and deeply formative for building a scalable group leadership pipeline.
2. Co-Teacher: Develop Teaching & Communication Skills
Throughout Rooted, all groups come together for three large gatherings: Kick-Off Gathering (Week 1), Sacrificial Generosity Gathering (Week 8), and Celebration Gathering (After Week 10). These gatherings are incredible opportunities to give young leaders stage time and to strengthen church leadership development.
If you know a young adult exploring ministry, or even just curious about teaching, why not invite them to co-teach a portion of one of these gatherings with you? Finding safe, structured spaces to practice teaching is rare, and Rooted provides just that. It’s a much safer “at-bat” than a Sunday morning sermon, and builds the same skills that support long-term spiritual formation.
3. Student Leader: Empower Juniors & Seniors to Lead
If your church offers Rooted Essentials within student ministry, consider inviting juniors or seniors to lead the group discussions for student ministry leadership development. The structure is already built in, preparation is minimal, and the facilitator resources make it easy for students to step into leadership.
The earlier students take ownership, the more invested they become in the mission of the student ministry, and the more likely they are to invite their friends and create an invitational culture that strengthens church small groups.
Explore the Rooted Essentials Student Workbook
A complete leader-ready workbook that builds sustainable discipleship rhythms and grows young leaders. Facilitator resources included.
One Final Thought: Build a Sustainable Discipleship Plan
Engaging the next generation won’t happen by accident, it takes intentionality. Rooted provides both the structure and the opportunity to practice keychain leadership within a comprehensive discipleship strategy and Rooted ecosystem.
When we hand young adults the keys through Rooted, we’re not just raising leaders for today, we’re empowering disciple-making disciples for the future and giving pastors a church-wide discipleship strategy that’s intentional, specific, and sustainable.
Next Steps to Build a Sustainable Discipleship Plan
Start the Church Discipleship Assessment
3 minutes to get a tailored next step for your church.
