How to Build a Church Leadership Team
No matter how small or large the congregation, churches need a strong leadership team in order to grow and thrive. Leadership teams usually consist of both staff and volunteer workers who set goals together. The size of the church will usually determine the size of the leadership team, but even very small congregations needs at least three people on the leadership team for accountability purposes. Larger congregations have several leadership teams for different areas such as prayer, teaching, women's, men's, youth and children's ministries or counseling ministries. Usually, the leader of each ministry group then reports directly to the senior pastor.
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Instructions
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Pray about the people who should be on the leadership team. While prayer needs to under gird each step of the process, prayer should form the foundation for developing the church leadership team.
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Observe and watch for committed people with latent leadership skills. As the leader rises up higher in the church, he has a responsibility to bring other people up with him. This includes looking out for those who have the same heart to use their gifts in serving God. Watch for people who are willing to serve wherever they are needed, but also encourage them to serve in areas that match their giftings. Some people will be natural leaders who have a heart and desire to lead; others are situational leaders who will lead groups or projects on a short-term basis. Still others are undeveloped leaders who have not yet discovered the latent giftings within themselves.
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Mentor leaders. This method was used by Paul in the Bible, who trained Timothy and told him to pass that training on to others. Paul led by example. While the team leader does not necessarily want to clone herself, she does want to establish character and principles in people that will enable them to lead with confidence. That kind of mentoring takes lots of attention as the leader spends time getting to know the follower and developing his strengths.
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Tips & Warnings
Quiet individuals may still have a strong gift of leadership. Leadership does not always mean being in the front of the congregation. When the pastor or team leader sees the strengths in each person, even quiet individuals can fulfill an important niche in leadership. Often, quiet personalities gravitate to administrative, organizational, teaching and writing positions. Workplace leaders will probably also lead effectively in church. They may not realize how their skills can apply to church service.
Building a church leadership team takes time and patience. The leader of the team may recruit 10 people; after a year, only one or two remain. That can frustrate even the most patient team leader. God will direct the team leader to the people who need to be in place for the benefit of the team and the congregation.
References
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