What happens when a leader stops trying to do it all and starts empowering others to lead?
In this episode of The Disciple-Making Leader Podcast, Craig Etheredge and Ben Borgman sit down with Cameron Bundy, Adult Ministry Pastor at Cross Creek Church, to unpack a powerful shift in ministry leadership.
Cameron shares a candid story of feeling overwhelmed—stretched thin by the weight of ministry demands. But everything changed when he embraced a bold, biblical shift: becoming a leader of leaders. By identifying his span-of-care challenges and learning to empower others, Cameron stepped into Jesus’ model for multiplication.
Together, the team dives into practical strategies to help church leaders break free from ministry bottlenecks and start building healthy, multiplying leadership pipelines. From releasing control to equipping disciple-makers, this conversation offers clear, actionable insight for leaders who are ready to stop managing programs—and start multiplying people.
If you’re hungry to create a movement of multiplication in your church, this conversation will challenge and inspire you to follow Jesus’ model—and lead with boldness.
Listen in and take your next step toward becoming a disciple-making leader.
Overview:
- 00:00 Disciple Making Leader Podcast
- 04:11 Developing Leaders in Church Ministry
- 06:18 “Scalable Leadership Principles for All”
- 11:42 “Span of Care in Churches”
- 14:00 Empowering Leaders Through Delegation
- 16:56 Defining Leadership Coach Traits
- 20:28 Vision for Expanding Leadership Groups
- 25:18 Leadership Transition Challenges
- 26:44 “Leader Alignment in Church Leadership”
- 29:49 Support for Overwhelmed Pastors
- 34:21 “Leadership Vision and Revival”
- 36:08 Identifying and Addressing Leadership Pinches
- 41:38 Empowering Leaders Through Vision Conversations
- 42:49 Empowering Church Members’ Contributions
- 45:52 Develop Leader Potential at Their Pace
- 49:55 “Groups as Spiritual Pathways”
- 52:09 “Disciple Making Leader Podcast”
Discussion Questions:
- How did Cameron Bundy’s role as pastor of adult ministry at Cross Creek Church lead him to recognize the need for leader of leaders in his context?
- What are some of the practical steps Cameron Bundy took to transition from being the sole leader of connect groups to developing leader of leaders?
- What benefits did Cross Creek Church experience as a result of implementing the leader of leaders model in their group ministry?
- Craig Etheredge mentioned the concept of “span of care.” How does this concept impact the growth and scalability of church ministries?
- What are some challenges Cameron Bundy faced while transitioning to the leader of leaders model, and how did he address them?
- How does prayer play a role in Cameron Bundy’s process of identifying and raising up new leaders in the church?
- The episode discussed having “I see in you” conversations. How can this approach positively affect potential leaders within a church community?
- How did implementing the leader of leaders model help Cameron Bundy and his team at Cross Creek Church achieve their goal of reaching 30 connect groups?
- What strategies did Cameron Bundy use to develop a training framework for leader of leaders, and how did he tailor it to fit the specific needs of their ministry?
- What lessons can be learned from Cross Creek Church’s experience in raising leader of leaders that can be applied to other church ministries or contexts?
