Have you ever stopped to consider that a church whose mission is to make disciples ought to be led by leaders that are making them? Makes sense, doesn’t it?
It makes sense that a church called by Jesus to make disciples would be led by leaders that are making them. The reality, however, is that in many cases, that is the farthest thing from reality. It is sad, but true, that most churches are being led by leaders that are not (and maybe don’t even know how to lead) the church to make disciples. It is no surprise that there is a lack of progress in churches when we are being led by leaders that are not equipped to lead correctly.
If the Church is going to succeed at Christ’s mission to make disciples, it will mean having leaders that have the knowledge and understanding to lead that way. Leaders must have a heart for God and know how to lead the way Jesus led. Thirty years of pastoring a church have brought me to certain conclusions regarding the development of disciple making leaders.
Disciple making leaders need the right motivation! This may sound simplistic, but if a leader is not motivated by the right mission, they will not lead in the right direction. Disciple making leaders are leaders that are motivated by what motivated Christ. They want to see every person, in every nation, in every generation learn what it means to be a disciple and to build more disciples. If you have a church filled with leaders who are motivated by the same thing that motivated Christ, you are going to become a movement of multiplying disciples.
Disciple making leaders have the right information! When a leader has the right information, it means that they know what they need to know about how to lead people to accomplish Christ’s mission. Think of it this way: the disciples could not accomplish Christ’s mission without knowing how to lead like He led. Jesus spent three years teaching His disciples what they needed to know about leading a movement of disciple making. The disciples made more disciples because they “knew” what they were supposed to do.
Disciple making leaders need the right application! Having the right application means a leader knows how to pass on what they know to others. You see, leadership isn’t leadership until somebody besides the leader begins to pursue the mission. If the leader is the only person that sees the vision and works the strategy, then they are not really a leader and the success of the mission will be limited. On the other hand, if a leader can help apply what they know to others, there will be serious momentum towards the mission.
A church of disciple making leaders will not just happen. A church must define what a leader looks like and have a process to help develop them. At Impact Discipleship Ministries, we help churches make disciple making leaders. Contact us at impactdisciples.com to learn more about our leadership resource called 315 Leadership.
