5. Develop leaders.
This is obviously a much larger topic than a paragraph or so can cover in one article. But I can at least make the point. If you want your ministry to be larger than you, you must develop leaders to help you realize the largest possible Kingdom impact. It’s not about numbers and size; it’s about impact. I don’t care if your church is 100, 1000, or 10000 as long as it’s growing and people’s lives are being changed. You need more leaders to help you do that.
If you are already doing leadership development, great! Skip this paragraph. If you are new at it, let’s get started in a simple doable pattern. Here it is. Gather up a small group of leaders. They can be paid staff, volunteer, or a combination. It’s OK to have rookie leaders with potential and veteran leaders if they want to grow. Pick a great leadership book and meet twice a month to learn leadership together. Hit a chapter or two each time and focus on two things: 1. What are you learning? 2. How are you applying it? That’s it! The key is simplicity and consistency. Leadership development is a lifelong commitment, not an event. Stay at it. Leadership development can get much more involved than what I just said, but those two things work very well. Just keep doing it and you’ll expand your process naturally.
If you’d like several good book suggestions to develop leaders with, go to my blog at http://danreiland.com and click on the “books” button.
6. Chase God.
This may be the most obvious of all, but curiously, it gets left out more often than you might think. Young leaders are so eager to lead, build, and succeed that it’s easy to crowd out that which really matters. Don’t get me wrong. I applaud the zeal, energy, and hard work. But God is the one who adds the favor, blessing, and true power to make anything of eternal value happen.
The two things that will keep your heart hot for God are prayer and evangelism. Stay close to God and never lose a heart for people who are far from God.
Yes, you and I could make this list longer. But if you make it much longer, you’ll get lost in the list. The idea is just to get started on the right foot. Start smart and the rest will come in time.
