How I Let the Youth Lead | A How I Lead Interview with Justin Sorensen

‏Justin Sorensen was recently released as bishop of his ward in
Indiana and is now serving as stake Young Men camp director and
youth Sunday School teacher. He has previously served as ward
executive secretary, Young Men president, elders quorum president,
and counselor in a bishopric. Justin grew up in Northern Indiana,
served a mission in South Korea, and graduated from Purdue
University with a bachelor of science in Industrial Engineering. He
has been an insurance agency owner for the last 14 years, married
to Angela for 23 years, and they are the parents of five children.
Highlights 02:30 Introduction and background of Justin Sorenson
05:00 Transitioning from being bishop and having a large role in
the ward to having a much smaller role 06:30 The dynamic that the
bishop has with the youth and the ward. It can be exhausting to be
everything for everyone. 11:00 Justin talks about his experience as
a bishop helping the youth. Things that they did. 16:30 Young men’s
advisors 17:20 Principle one - Be with them (the youth). Always be
communicating. 20:40 Interviews with the youth 21:30 Principle two
- Let them lead. How Justin went about helping the youth lead.
23:50 Justin’s ward created a planning conference for the youth.
The youth were able to plan activities for the next six months plus
they got to have fun. 30:30 Trust the youth. Let them lead to
unleash their power. Be willing to let the young men fulfill their
responsibilities. Let them fail once or twice instead of jumping in
right away to fix everything. 31:45 As a leader you need to be
willing to sit back and listen and let the youth do their thing. We
try to jump in way too soon and release them from that
responsibility. 34:10 Principle three - Connect them with heaven.
Connect them with the importance of the sacrament Talk about
covenants and the temple. Prepare them for the future. Always being
open to inspiration and what the youth need 39:40 Helping the youth
plan activities. You can help give them a framework but within the
framework the youth can do what they want. 40:15 Ward council is
the board for the ward with a unified objective 42:50 Principles of
the ward council: Principle one - As a bishop, you should be with
them One meeting a month with the full agenda All other weekly
meetings were about people. Only 10 minutes long. 45:20 Ward
council principle two - Let them lead Everyone had very clear
responsibilities Let them manage their own organization Allowing
them to lead helps them have their own spiritual experiences 51:30
Justin’s final thoughts and what he has learned from being a leader
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