"Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity" (NLT, 1 Timothy 4:12).

One of the main reasons why youth do not step up to the leadership mantle is because they have been looked down on, underestimated and made to feel that they do not add up because of their age. No wonder we have so many old and outdated systems that are dependent on old and outdated leaders.

While I am only twenty-six years old, I don't consider myself to be much of a youth because I don't always have the optimism, ingenuity and innovation that today's youth presents. And as big as my ministry can get, it's not because of what I have done right but because of the times when young leaders have stepped up to the plate and innovated the way I do things.

The day we start looking down on the young, energetic, inexperienced, optimistic and vibrant is the day we lose track of progress—both in ministry and in the marketplace. Here are four of the many main reasons why we shouldn't look down at the young.

They are the future

Whether we like it or not, the day will come when we become too old for certain leadership roles and we will have to pass it on to the next generation. When we fail to look to and encourage the next generation, all that we have worked for and strived for will disappear shortly after our lifetime because we failed to bring up a successor.

They have learned from your mistakes

The young may be less experienced but that doesn't mean they don't see your experiences and that they don't learn from them. When we let a generation into our successes and even our failures, we can actually make them better than us. And chances are the next generation are already getting into your mistakes and learning from them. It will only be a matter of time until our ceiling becomes their floor.

They have the same Spirit you do

No one ever gets a junior Holy Spirit, not even the young. Romans 8:11 says, "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you" (ESV).

God has a plan for them

Just as God has (or had) a plan for you, God also has a plan for the next generation. Even when we are gone, God will be working, only this time not with you but with the next generation. God needs you, yes, but He also needs the youth, so we must not look down at them.