Begin with yourself. “If you as the pastor don’t believe you need to grow, the chances of your church growing numerically or spiritually are pretty slim.”
— Brad Bridges, vice president of the Malphurs Group
Be intentional. “We look at our volunteers and say, ‘How can we help develop them to be leaders?’”
—Deanna Spallone, training and development director, Christ Fellowship, Miami, Florida
Choose character. “Select people who are faithful, so if things get hard, they’ll follow through. They’re available—they have time to sacrifice. And they’re teachable—they want to learn and can receive correction.”
—Rex Hamilton, director of equipping, The Austin Stone Community Church, Austin, Texas
Plan for the leaders you’ll need in 2-3 years. Otherwise, “you’re relying on new church members to transfer in, or you try to steal from other ministry areas within the church.”
—Daniel Im, church multiplication specialist, Lifeway Christian Resources
Make tools your own. “Learn from other churches, but don’t just import what they’re doing. You have to look at your particular vision. It can’t be a cookie-cutter approach.”
—Rick Duncan, founding pastor, Cuyahoga Valley Church, Broadview Heights, Ohio
Be patient with failure. “Failure is the greatest fertilizer for the development of new leaders. When a young leader makes a mistake, that’s a teachable moment.”
—Mac Lake, leadership pipeline navigator for Auxano
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