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Before leaving the house for a trip, I make sure that I have at least three essential things. Can you guess what they are? It’s not my favorite shirt, toothbrush, or deodorant. It’s my itinerary, wallet, and phone. I believe that if I have my itinerary, my wallet, and my phone, I’m much more likely to arrive at my destination effectively and efficiently.
Recently I sat down with Kadi Cole, the Director of Kaleo, The School of Biblical Leadership at Christ Fellowship in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, to discuss the topic of leadership development. As she talked about Christ Fellowship’s journey of creating the Biblical School of Leadership, it dawned on me that just as I have three essential questions I ask myself before leaving the house to go on a trip—do I have my itinerary, wallet, and phone—there are at least three essential questions churches should ask themselves before developing leaders.
According to Kadi, most churches—when asked if they have a plan for developing leaders—talk about concepts not steps. In other words, for most churches, leadership development tends to be more organic—a natural byproduct of individuals being around other leaders. However, a more organic form of leadership development prohibits the expansion and reach of intentionally developing more leaders that exist on the [relational] periphery of church leaders.
Kadi and Christ Fellowship realized that their more organic form of leadership development prevented them from sending out qualified leaders to lead and serve their new multisite campuses. As a result, they worked diligently to create a pipeline (a development process) to invest in and grow their leaders. Their pipeline became known as the School of Biblical Leadership where their goal was to develop leadership skills, theological understanding, and personal character in their people. They also devised the leadership school’s main attributes, core values, and core competencies.
When they had all the pieces, they created a 14-month curriculum as their leadership development plan to move their people to a place where they were equipped with basic ministry skills, a solid biblical understanding, and a heart and mind to bring spiritual transformation to their region.
Leaders understand the holistic investment they must make to lead their respective areas. Whether it’s leading a family, a small group, a children’s ministry, a hospitality ministry, a campus, or a church, leaders understand the time, energy, resources, and finances they must commit in order to lead effectively. They also understand the many balls they have to juggle at the same time. In short, they realize leadership is not easy; in fact, it’s costly!
Armed with this understanding, Kadi and Christ Fellowship intentionally teach their School of Biblical Leadership students this concept. One of the ways they do this is by setting the tuition at $2,500. Some may balk at such a practice of charging people to go through a leadership school, but Kadi has seen that those who invest financially in the program typically are the ones who finish the program. Those who have skin in the game usually finish the game. On the other hand, those who don’t pay for the program find it easier to drop out when it gets too stressful or overwhelming. And Kadi says people do find the 14-month program at 8–12 hours a week a challenging process.
To read the final question churches should ask when developing leaders, learn how Christ Fellowship does multisite, and download their curriculum and leadership pathway, click here for the full video and post.
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Daniel Im (@danielsangi) is the Director of Church Multiplication for NewChurches.com at LifeWay Christian Resources. He is a Teaching Pastor at The Fellowship, a multisite church in Nashville. He is the author of No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry, and co-author of Planting Missional Churches: Your Guide to Starting Churches that Multiply (2nd ed) with Ed Stetzer. He also co-hosts the New Churches Q&A Podcast, the 5 Leadership Questions Podcast, and a brand new podcast with his wife on marriage and parenting called the IMbetween Podcast. He has an M.A. in Global Leadership and has served and pastored in church plants and multisite churches ranging from 100 people to 50,000 people in Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, Korea, Edmonton, and Nashville. Visit Danielim.com to learn more.
