Sustained leadership development requires intentionality. Churches stall many times because they lack an intentional plan to continue reproducing leaders beyond the core group development phase, if they do it then. Here are three questions to get leadership development started.

1. How many leadership roles have we developed?

You won’t expand the capacity of your church without a growing number of leaders. You won’t develop leaders if you don’t see a need for them. Expanding the capacity of your church requires enlarging the organization through leadership roles. Our current church plant has basically followed the Acts 6 moments in our history to start new ministry teams and thus creating new leadership roles. When we had a need arise, like in Acts 6 with the need for widows to be served fairly, we’ve created a new team. Or when we saw God giving us leaders of a certain gifting, we took the opportunity to create opportunities in that area. In 7 years, we’ve gone from one launch team, to now eight ministry teams, with leaders multiplying to fill roles required by the needs of the church and community.

Is your church setup to expand capacity through new leaders and expanding roles for leaders? If not, start with obvious needs in the church and community, and begin to cast vision for a new ministry or team or individual to fulfill that ministry.

2. How many leadership training opportunities have we promoted?

Leadership training for the church is more than just seminary training. Every church can offer an array of training opportunities and in so doing, develop a culture of leadership development. Here are a few opportunities available to all of us:

• Online training options like Ministry Grid. Training can be shared on Facebook Groups or by email. You can even do your own video training very easily these days through Youtube.com or Right Now Media.
• Invite other church leaders in your region that are killing it in a particular area of ministry that you hope to develop. Put on a luncheon after church and pay their mileage and most will jump at the chance to serve your church.
• If you’re close to a seminary, invite a professor for a day of training with your church in a particular area.
• Denominations and local Associations of churches offer trainings throughout the year that are usually free and close by.
• National conferences can be more expensive when you factor in travel, but can still be powerful events to train, equip, and inspire your leaders and potential leaders.

Plan 4-6 opportunities next year. Watching who shows up for these and takes them seriously will help you see who your leaders and potential leaders are.

3. How many small steps up the leadership ladder have we developed?

Each year I update a spreadsheet for our church called “Who Does What?” It lists everything required to pull off what our church does every week. Dozens of task go on that list. As a church planter, many of them have been done by me or by staff. But our work is to get more and more of that list, especially the leadership roles, done by the people in the church. BUT PAY CAREFUL ATTENTION TO THIS: It’s not about getting stuff done! It’s about getting people done! Giving people responsibility in the overall mission of the kingdom is a way to help them develop as disciples. Watch for obedience and faithfulness, coach and encourage, and watch many of them climb up the ladder to fruitful ministry in the church, neighborhood, and beyond. You should see even making the coffee as a sacred role that invites someone to a life on mission.

Does your church have small steps of responsibility and life on mission for new disciples and potential leaders to take this week?

Developing leaders is about offering opportunities to lead, to learn, to take small steps along the path to maturity.