Day 19 | What is our Leadership Process? (Part 1)

The early movement of the church grew when leaders were multiplied. Multiplication stronger than simple addition. Consider the following math:

2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2 = 20 or 2 to the 10th power = 1024

When the emphasis is on multiplication, growth happens exponentially. This was the early process of discipleship and leadership development for the early church. Paul would enter cities, develop leaders, and then those leaders would continue to develop others and expand their ministry in the region. Check out how the verse below contains four generations of believers:

2 Timothy 2:2
2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

Our Leadership Development Process

Identification (Calling) Finding potential leaders

Instruction (Competency/Head) Teaching knowledge, skills and application.

Impartation (Character/Heart) Developing character, trust, spiritual gifts, and passion.

Internship (Capacity/Hands) Helping grow confidence and teamwork through shared experience.

As wrap up our discussion on what it means to lead like Jesus, we want to offer a practical process people can use to develop others. This process is not necessarily linear in that several steps may be accomplished in a different order or at the same time. However, this process can be used and repeated to intentionally and continually develop the people around you.

Step #1 – Identification

The first step in developing people is to identify potential leaders. You want to find people who might be called to follow Jesus. Remember that God’s job is to save. Our job is to share. We don’t have to be shy when it comes to reaching out to people. Consider your family. Think of your friends. Pray for your co-workers. Is there someone or a few people who might be interested in spiritual things? Is there someone with whom you can share your faith and they would want to know more? Spend time in prayer and then spend time talking to people, sharing your story and the Gospel with them (Day 2 from our devotional).

Step #2 – Instruction

The second step in developing leaders is instruction. Here you will focus on competency, which involves teaching knowledge and skills for the purpose of application. As you pass along information, it’s important to do so with repetition, grace, and compassion. Repetition is important because people might not remember the first time. Grace is important because people will regularly mess up. Finally, compassion is important because it helps you connect on a deeper level building trust in your relationship.