Leaders are responsible for many tasks within their organizations, but one of the most important things they do is to develop other leaders. As a judicatory leader I would often hear pastors complain that their churches lacked sufficient leaders with the maturity and spirituality they needed to properly serve as leaders in the churches. Unfortunately, such a complaint is actually an admission that the pastor had not done his or her job. Good leaders will produce other good leaders. Weak leaders produce only followers who are often unable or unwilling to become leaders.
Every church should have a leadership pipeline that is training and equipping future leaders for the church. Even a small, bivocational church can have a leadership pipeline. There may not be a large number of people going through that pipeline, but it will be a sufficient number to assure the church of strong, spiritual leadership in the future.
Pastors should constantly be on the lookout for potential leaders in their congregations. These may be new believers. They may be people who have moved into the neighborhood and began attending the church. They may be people who have renewed their commitment to God after years of being lukewarm in service. As these people are discovered it's important to give them responsibilities in line with their abilities and giftedness. Coach them as they begin serving in the church. In time elevate their responsibilities. Invest in these people. This means you give them extra time and training.
Within a few months after I rededicated my life to Christ as an adult our pastor asked if I would be the substitute Sunday school teacher for a new young adult class he was starting. Three months later I became the teacher of that class. I accepted other responsibilities in the church. One day as the pastor and I were driving to a training event he asked if I had ever felt that God might be calling me into the ministry. The answer was yes. We talked about that during the drive to the event and back home. The next Sunday he gave me a key to his study so I could use his library to study. A few months later he left the church, and shortly after that I requested the church grant me a license to preach which they did. As they say...the rest is history.
When I think of the many opportunities I've had in ministry I have to remember that it all began with a conversation on the way to a training event. My pastor had seen something in me that no one else had. He planted a seed in my mind which the Holy Spirit used to help me understand His will for my life. Now it is my responsibility to identify and raise up future leaders for the church, and I've tried to do that. In my 35 plus years of serving as a bivocational minister and working with others I can see a number of people who are serving in leadership roles in their churches at least partially due to my relationship with them.
If you are a leader in the church, how many other leaders have you produced? This seldom happens by accident. You normally have to be very intentional about identifying and developing these leaders. It requires a lot of prayer and a commitment of your time, but I can tell you that it is a very rewarding feeling when you see someone with whom you've invested your life step into a leadership role in the church.
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