Ministry Focus & Equipping | Christian Ministry Training Blog

Leaders & Church Growth

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Ministry Tools Resource Center — 7 Comments ↓

The three different types of leaders in the church, based on spiritual gifting, will have different perspectives or approaches to church growth. Read through the Leadership Ministry Training to gain a better understanding of these leaders.

Types of Church Leaders — Click to enlarge image in Pinterest & repin.

Not all leaders will fit precisely into one of these types due to the combination of others gifts and/or their personalities. Yet, many leaders can see themselves in one of these categories. When that is the case, they should seek to network with other types of leaders to broaden their perspective so they approach church growth from God’s intent.

How Different Types of Leaders Approach Church Growth

Visionary Leaders tend to want to grow the church by developing new approaches.

Administrative Leaders tend to work at fine-tuning or fixing what we’re currently doing to be ready for growth.

Pastoral Leaders tend to focus on meeting people’s needs more than being concerned with church growth efforts.

Developing new ministry initiatives that could lead to growth is important. Properly maintaining the good currently being done is important. Meeting people’s needs is important. — Is it little wonder God so gifted the church that there are three different types of leaders? He intends for the church to do all three of these important tasks but we must work interdependently with one another. We need each other if the church is to grow.

Church Growth is one of 15 leader responsibilities looked at in the Balance in Church Leadership Based on Spiritual Gifting. In addition to the tendencies of the different kinds of leaders mentioned in this post, it also suggests what they must be careful of in order to keep the needed balance when it comes to church growth.

For more: Church Leaders Practicum on Church Growth

Turning Team Leaders into Team Builders

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Ministry Tools Resource Center — 4 Comments ↓

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (Rom. 12:4-5)

As with a physical body, the Body of Christ must work together interdependently, as a team, to function with the kind of unity described in the above verses.

Functioning like a team does not happen automatically just because we are Christians, part of His Church. Team members need certain qualities built within them that help them truly engage in such fellowship. Consequently, team leaders must promote these qualities. But, what will it take for team leaders to turn into team builders?

Equipping Team Leaders to Become Team Builders:

Tools

While providing practical ideas is always good, team leaders need to be reminded of the tools they already have constantly available to them — the cross of Jesus which brings us together into one body, the Word which instructs us on how to live within God’s design, and the Spirit who enables us.

Click on image to enlarge in Pinterest & Repin.

Example

Jesus’ example of servanthood is the best pattern we will ever have for functioning as a team (Jn. 13:3-15; Phil. 2:1-11). When we learn such selflessness, willing to lay aside our rights for the good of others, then we too can be an example. We will be able to say, as the Apostle Paul said, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1).

Also Read: Church Leadership Qualities – Be an Example

Assurance

Knowing the tools it will take for us to be the Body God intends us to be and having good examples of it doesn’t always translate into living it out. We need to have such a trust in God that His ways are always right and that He is great enough and powerful enough to change us and those we serve, that it moves us to action.

Resource: Ministry Worker’s Devotional: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

Mentoring

Sometimes it helps to be able to interact with someone in whom God has developed the qualities essential to teamwork. We can learn from their experiences but also from their heart.

Get Church Staffing Right

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Ministry Tools Resource Center — 5 Comments ↓

Whether looking for volunteers in the church or hiring paid staff, we need to get staffing right — the right person for the right ministry at the right time. We need to ask if this is not only the person of God’s choosing but also the ministry He wants our church to do. When it is, staffing will be about more than filling positions.

(Click image to enlarge in Pinterest & repin.)

What It Takes to Get Church Staffing Right

1) The Right Person

Is the person spiritually gifted for this type of ministry? Is it not only a good fit, but the best fit for both the person and the ministry? Is the person passionate about serving in this ministry? If not, you could be looking at frustration, disillusionment, burnout, and a low retention rate. People will put more into what they are doing when there’s a fit.

Is this the person of God’s choosing? Remember that God doesn’t always choose whom we would think. See 1 Samuel 16:1-12 and 1 Corinthians 1:20-31. Learn from Jesus who spent time in prayer before choosing the twelve disciples (Lk. 6:12-13).

2) The Right Ministry

Is the ministry needed? Does it have a purpose? Is it something God wants you to do, not merely something you’ve always done? If not, you may be spending a lot of time, energy and resources on something with a low spiritual yield. People are more prone to willingly serve when they feel it is a good cause and will make an eternal difference.

3) The Right Time

You could have the right person but at the wrong time due to the season of their lives, their schedule, other responsibilities or something else God has for them now. You could have the right ministry but at the wrong time. Sometimes we can rush ahead of God and people and then wonder why nobody wants to come on-board for such a good endeavor. Is the timing right? If not, you could be facing a low approval rating with God and man. People are more likely to join in when they sense God is leading both them and the church.

What Happens When We Get Staffing Right

Looking for the right person for the right ministry at the right time elevates the way we do staffing as it is no longer about merely filling a position. We will understand that pleas of desperation from the pulpit and begging people to serve aren’t necessary. We will not make threats (i.e., discontinuing a ministry if no volunteers come forward). We will guard against pulling people in out of obligation or guilt. We will no longer nab people in the parking lot. Rather, we will put the time and personal touch into recruiting. We will pray it through until God raises up people to serve. We will communicate higher expectations and lay out a vision.

More on Church Staffing:

Leaders & Church Discipline

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Ministry Tools Resource Center — 2 Comments ↓

God’s Word presents three different kinds of leaders based on spiritual gifting. Each leader brings a different perspective to issues faced in the church such as how to handle church discipline. Consequently, a network of these types of leaders would bring the most balance and health into a situation.

Not all leaders will fit precisely into one of these types. Their gift-mix or personality could also affect their leadership style. God uses all of who we are in serving Him. If you fit primarily within one of these types of leaders, network with other kinds of leaders. If you don’t network, you will have to work at bringing the needed balance.

Concerns different types of leaders might have in their approach to church discipline:

Visionary Leaders want to move on and progress so they seek to expedite what needs to be done.

Administrative Leaders seek to make things right by following a step by step process to bring correction.

Pastoral Leaders want to be sure we’ve tried everything to bring wholeness to people’s lives.

You can see how a network of these different types of leaders working in tandem will bring balance and health. Unresolved discipline issues can hold a church back. We do need to take measures to ensure that we handle it in ways that are beyond reproach. And, we do need to always have the person’s best interests at heart.

Church Discipline is one of 15 leadership responsibilities covered in the Balance in Church Leadership Based on Spiritual Gifting. In addition to what you find about the different leaders in this post, it also points out tendencies each of the leaders may have when it comes to church discipline and suggests a biblical truth to remember to help bring health and balance to the process.

For more: Church Leaders Practicum on Church Discipline

Mentoring by Older Women

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Ministry Tools Resource Center — 8 Comments ↓

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women . . . (Titus 2:3-4a)

We hear the Apostle Paul’s exhortation for older women to mentor younger women. They have an experience base from which to pull much wisdom of how they learned to cope with the responsibilities of life. They can teach younger women what they gleaned from both their successes and failings.

Click to enlarge image on Pinterest & repin.But, older women mentoring younger women isn’t just about passing on “how to” be a good wife or mother. They are to also teach them qualities essential to being godly women. That is why Paul puts qualifications on the mentors. The church also has a responsibility to “teach the older women” to be a certain way so they can “teach what is good.” Notice that it is “then” that “they can train the younger women.”

Qualities Needed in Older Women to Effectively Mentor Younger Women

To mentor younger women to “be” who they should be and not merely “do” what they should do takes more than words. It takes a role model, someone who lives what they say, to “train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands” (Titus 2:4-5).

If young women are to learn to be godly from their mentor, then they need mentors who are “reverent” … consecrated to the Lord.

If young women are to learn to be submissive from their mentor, then they need to see that reverence in their mentors spill over into “the way they live” in relationship with others. Submission grows out of respect.

If young women are to learn to be kind and pure from their mentor, then they need a mentor who does not “slander” or demean others through gossip or other negative words.

If young women are to learn to be self-controlled from their mentor, then they need a mentor who is not “addicted to much wine” or any other vice or bondage.

Lining Up a Mentoring Ministry with Titus 2

Do you have, or want to begin, a mentoring program at your church for women? Following are three questions for you to think through to line up what you do with Titus 2.

1) What criteria should be in a mentor?

Remember, more goes into mentoring than passing on life experiences so don’t make it about merely pairing up women based on who has been through similar life experiences. The mentor, according to Titus 2, should display certain qualities. Think through how you will know when an older woman is ready to be a mentor.

2) How will you recruit mentors?

Not all older women are qualified to join in such an endeavor. Think through how you present this opportunity to the older women of your church so you are not in an awkward position of turning some women away.

3) What training should be required of mentors?

Some older women are already godly or “reverent in the way they live” so they might not need as much teaching but should still go through training to remind them of what mentoring is all about. Think through what should be included in that basic plan.

Older women who do not meet the criteria of Titus 2 probably will not drastically change as the result of a few training sessions. Bondages are usually not easily or quickly broken. Think through how you can extend prolonged teaching, perhaps counseling or they themselves being mentored, to help them become more godly.

Also Check Out: Women’s Ministry Resources

Just a lay person? Ouch!

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Ministry Tools Resource Center — 4 Comments ↓

Why did I add “Ouch!” to the title of this post? Referring to yourself or anyone else in the Body of Christ as “just a lay person” is a hurtful comment.

If the lay person makes the statement, it betrays a sense of inferiority regarding the view of one’s self in the Body.
If the clergy makes the statement, it emits a sense of superiority regarding the view of one’s self in the Body.

At the Root of a Lay Person Complex

To make such a statement from either point of view suggests inferiority of lay people to clergy or paid professionals. The flow chart would depict a hierarchical structure in doing ministry with the clergy at the top not just in terms of decision-making but also worth or importance.

Question: How does this fit into the priesthood of all believers? See 1 Peter 2:9.

In addition, it could suggest the view of the importance of some spiritual gifts over others. Certainly someone with the gift of service or helps, it could be argued, is not as critical as a person with the gift of pastor or leadership.

Question: How does that reconcile with God’s teaching on the Body and spiritual gifts that all are needed and all are important? See 1 Corinthians 12:14-26.

Why a Low View of Lay People Hurts

Consider all these different ways a low view of laity hurts the Body.

If people have such a view of themselves, not seeing their contribution as important as someone else’s, it is much easier not to get involved. Ouch!

When the Body misses out on the contribution of certain members, it stunts growth. Ouch! Remember, the Body “grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Eph. 4:16).

If clergy or other church leaders view themselves as superior to others in the Body, pride can set in which can lead to a fall (Prov. 16:18). Ouch!

When pride sets in to any member of the Body, an attitude of self-reliance can develop with the feeling that they don’t need others. Ouch! Not only is that a lonely place to be but it also goes against God’s design for the Body to be interdependent (1 Cor. 12:20-26).

If people in certain positions of ministry are elevated higher than others, discontent can surface within people as they wish they could serve like someone else instead of being the person God designed them to be. Ouch! Isn’t that a slap on the face for God who “arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be” (1 Cor. 12:18)?

When at the top of a hierarchy it can be so easy to develop control issues which can lead to spiritual abuse. Ouch! Jesus, however, said “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (Mk. 10:42-43).

If spiritual gifts are ranked in order of importance, a need to compare and compete can set in. Ouch! This kind of approach to spiritual gifting only divides the Body, something God expressly wants the Body to avoid (1 Cor. 12:25).

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