For the next few posts, we’re going to focus on the process of developing leaders in a church plant. Several of us that post for this blog are charged with putting in place the leadership development process at our new church. As part of our work we are writing down our best thoughts and posting them for your comments. We feel strongly that getting this development process working is one of the most important things we can do for the Kingdom. Growing spiritual leaders is a key way God will plant more churches that He will use to reach more people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please share your thoughts with us along this journey.
This post provides an overview of our current thinking. It describes the “bones” we believe must be put in place to grow leaders in an environment with very few paid resources. Developing staff and volunteer leaders will require getting the development methods right, targeting each leader with the right development plan, instilling the right values in the people doing the development and in those being developed, and providing the right skills. Complementary to these efforts must be the effective selection processes to determine who to invest in as well as some type of process to manage and track the things that are happening. And all this has to cost very little in the way of time and money. Sound impossible? It may be but it is also essential. Let’s look at some of these bones individually.
Development Methods are the “how” component of leadership development. Our most critical method will be requiring the people involved to build relationships with one another. Whether it’s a supervisor, coach, teacher, peer, or the person being developed, they must be actively engaged in understanding the key people in their life and ministry and building trusting relationships with them. Our second most important method will be leadership experiences we direct our leaders to participate in. Learning by doing is often the most effective way to learn and we plan to make full use of it. To gain maximum benefit from relationships and experiences, clear constructive feedback on each individual’s performance is essential. This feedback needs to come not only from their supervisor but also from their peers. Coaching is also a critical method that relies on consistent input over time to keep the process on track and finally the classic method of discussing leadership principles and practices with a variety of people rounds out our methods.
We also believe identifying the specific leadership values or traits that each leader should live out is important. This is especially true for a church’s top leaders–its staff and elders. These ways of living will only be incorporated into someone’s life if they are constantly seeking them through the power of the Holy Spirit. Agreeing on what they are and living them with other believers is a powerful part of this process.
The last thing our process considers are the skills a leader needs to have to execute their responsibilities. These skills are learned using the methods mentioned above. This typical development approach is needed to round out the person and make sure they are equipped with the tools they need to lead.
Please check back for future posts as we address each of these areas in detail.
