7 Characteristics Of An Incredible Guest Speaker

Veteran ministry leaders understand this truth: There is nothing more terrifying than handing someone else a microphone.

This isn’t an arrogant statement! Most of us love bringing in guest speakers!

A statement like this is made because speakers have used inappropriate language, spoken 30 minutes longer than their allotted time, or made the service a commercial for their newest T-shirt line.

Even with the risks, I firmly believe that guest speakers can deeply impact your student ministry events.

I love bringing in guest speakers for our events, retreats, and midweek worship services so that students can see other adults who are passionate about Jesus, hear another voice on a particular subject, and connect with another person’s story.

Read: 5 Reasons You Should Use Guest Speakers In Youth Ministry

Before I bring a guest speaker to our student ministry I make sure that they line up to a specific list of characteristics that will maximize their impact and the Gospel.

I do this for two reasons:

1. To protect our students from a negative situation.
2. To protect my job at the church. 

Below is the checklist I use to gauge a guest speaker’s effectiveness for our ministry.

7 Characteristics Of An Incredible Guest Speaker

Someone Who Will Bring Us To The Throne Of God Without Sitting On One

The event is not about the speaker. The event is not about the band. The retreat isn’t even about your students. Everything you lead should glorify King Jesus. I desire to bring in a speaker who is going to magnify Jesus, not their ministry or personality. There isn’t a fool-proof method of screening, but I diligently spend hours networking, screening, and researching a potential guest’s materials, social medias, spiritual growth, and reputation.

Someone With A Positive Social Media Following

After the event our students are going to follow the speaker on social medias. This means that the speaker will be influencing my students for months, maybe years, after the event. Obviously this can be a positive or negative situation. We want to bring in someone who uses social medias to minister. In contrast, we will not pick a speaker who inappropriately uses medias.

Someone Who Is Passionate About Students and Ministry

Joy and passion for Jesus are contagious! We want to surround our students with adults who are joyfully living out the Gospel of Jesus. Joy cannot be faked. This is a mark of a disciple of Jesus who is journeying with their Savior.

Someone Who Will Honor Our Retreat/Event Theme

When a speaker goes rogue on the teaching points our students are often unable to make the connection with the theme. We have been preparing every detail of this event for months. The speaker must realize his/her place in achieving the greater vision of developing disciples.

Read: 7 Things You Should Know Before Your Next Retreat

Someone Who Aligns With Our Theology

One of the primary roles of a pastor is to ensure that your congregation is protected from false doctrines and incorrect teachings. I have conversations with our guest speakers and find out what their views on baptism, Jesus, salvation, and sin are before we bring them in. Since we leverage our speakers to share the Gospel of Jesus, we want to ensure that the Gospel presentation lines up with our beliefs.

Someone Who Will Interact With Our People

Relating with students from the stage is one thing, but interacting with them between sessions is a necessity for us. I don’t expect a speaker to participate in every aspect of our programming, but I do expect them to build relationships with our people.

Someone Who Is Professional

Working with unprofessional people drives me crazy! There is nothing worse than a speaker who is slow to respond to emails, ignores phone calls, disregards our time limits, and isn’t prepared for the event. There is not a dichotomy between being relational and being organized.

Now What?

What characteristics do you look for when you bring in a guest speaker?