Why the future of the church depends on a different kind of leader
Disciple-making leaders are the missing ingredient in the church today. We don’t need more superstars; we need more disciple-making leaders. We don’t need men and women who are limited by what only they can do; we need men and women who understand that their greatest potential lies in what can be achieved through those whom they train to multiply!
Why our current moment demands disciple-making leaders
With every passing year, I feel an increasing urgency for these kinds of leaders because more than ever our times demand it. We are living in unprecedented, challenging times. We live in a culture that is divided and growing ever more hostile to the gospel. The lasting effects of the global pandemic are still yet to be seen.
I attended a small church planter “think tank” event in Chicago in the fall of 2019. One of the questions asked was this: How will churches survive if large gatherings are illegal in the United States? Such a question seemed theoretical at best, but none of us could have anticipated that within six months churches would be forced to close their doors across our country.
What seemed theoretical had suddenly become very practical.
As we reeled from the effects of the pandemic shutdown in our own church, my mind raced back to the solutions we had written on a whiteboard for such an occasion as this. Most of these solutions revolved around the idea of the decentralization of small groups. These groups would no longer meet in church buildings but rather in coffee shops, houses, apartment complexes, and offices.
Why decentralization requires a new caliber of leader
However, for decentralized groups to work, a new brand of leader must be developed. This requires leaders who are self-sufficient in their walk with God. Leaders who can invest and train up other leaders with little to no oversight. And leaders who can multiply themselves, their groups, and other leaders at a rapid pace.
In short, decentralization needs disciple-making leaders.
Our times right now cry out for this new caliber of leader.
Why the gospel requires multiplying leaders
Another reason we need disciple-making leaders is because the gospel requires it. We won’t reach the unreached in our communities and around the world with the number of leaders we have now.
The shortsighted superstar might think, Well, if my ministry is good, then everything is good. But we know better.
While a few churches are still growing at a minimal rate, the church in America is in decline. The old models and old strategies are inadequate for the new frontier ahead of us.
Why multiplication is the only path forward
How will we plant more churches unless we have more qualified leaders? How will we start new ministries without more qualified leaders? How will we multiply disciples without more qualified leaders?
The short answer is we won’t.
Without multiplying leaders, the movement stops.
That’s why we must raise up new disciple-making leaders who will raise up more leaders to take the gospel to those who desperately need it.
This blog features an excerpt from one of our books, The Disciple-Making Leader.
