I read the other day that the most successful armies are not necessarily the ones with the best generals.
The most important factor is that the soldiers feel part of their regiment and are well cared for by their officers. If they know they matter, they fight more tenaciously because they are committed to the cause. The Bible uses the military image. ‘No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs — he wants to please his commanding officer’ (2 Timothy 2.4).
There are a lot of good foot soldiers in youth ministry. They are people who turn up every week, among their many commitments, and serve faithfully often in quite mundane roles.