Leadership Development
From a participant on our advanced leadership forum ( to join the EBA click here
Seeds is a six year old church plant in a small community in Altona...Manitoba, Canada.
Ted (husband) and myself are the lead planters...
We just took the month of July off...for pure rest (ahhh) and time with our kids (not quite pure rest!)
The month of August for the two of us will be spent listening/praying/connecting with our lead team...we sense we're at the cusp of another change/breakthrough in the church/community!
Ted and I have been releasing more and more of the things that we have been involved in in the past, and we need to do even more of that to allow the congregation to move to a deeper level.
We've been marked as a community by generosity and grace...both things we never "set out" to do.
I feel like I need new tools. The leadership required to plant the church is different than the leadership required to move this unique community to the next level. To be honest, I've wondered whether I'm the right leader for this next phase...what's my fear??
I'm interested in hearing insights from those who've planted...and are a few years in. How has your leadership changed/evolved?
From Bill Easum
Darlene, I didn't plant but I restarted a church with 19 people which is very similar and grew it to beyond 1100 in worship over 24 years. During that time my leadership styles had to change four times. During the planting stage I had to spend most of my time in visitation (almost five days a week), visibility in the community and an all around jack of all trades - even doing the youth ministry so we could spend more on a worship leader. In hindsight I would have spent much more on a worship leader sooner. I went to all of the meetings. During this time you could say I pastored the church.
Someone where around 250 I had to begin spending more time equipping staff to equip church leaders rather than do it myself. I had to pull away from as much pastoral work as possible and spend more time vision casting and working with key lay leaders mostly in groups. The hardest skill I had to learn was how to find, chose, and equip gifted paid staff.
During this time you could say I pastored the paid staff and key lay leaders.
Somewhere around 500 I realized that my primary duty was to equip the staff and let them equip the lay leaders. At this point I pulled totally out of visitation of almost all kinds including members. During the time you could say I was the pastor to the paid staff.
Around 1,000 I worked primarily with four key paid staff and one lay committee who had oversight for the whole church. My primary function then was removing any barriers in the way of staff reaching their potential, casting vision, pushing the leadership beyond its capabilities, and making sure that the community life of the church flourished.
During this time you could say that I was the pastor to four key paid staff. These four were worship, business manager, evangelism, and lay mobilization (for us small groups)
Each stage was a challenge. I think the key question for you is - was I called to be a founding pastor or a church planter. if founding, then stay there for life and develop the skills; if planter, then leave and plant more churches
I hope this helps.
bill
Response
Thanks.
We started with 15, and we're around the 180 mark right now. I have been making the transition you talk about in the 250 mark, spending more energy on equipping leaders...and the congregation is noticing it....because it's a small community, the line between leader/friend has been tough...."i thought we could just get together as friends"...oooh...i've developed relationships and friendships, so when I pull away from some situations, they feel they've lost a friend. Tough place for me, but I'm learning, and I've got an awesome team of leaders that's really behind us! I NEED to keep listening to the voice of Jesus that keeps me on the track He has for me in this area. I must admit that through the last year I have probably spent less time with "un-churched" folk than I have previously...that's not good. But...I see others in our community spending MORE time with those on the fringes...native people in particular, and the poor. We have become a depot for the poor....
We hired a worship director last August, and that's been fabulous! I am so grateful for the vision and leadership that person is giving, and how much it's freed us from stuff we don't need nor want to do!
This last winter was extremely tough for me. Increasing numbers meant increased need and challenge. Lots of crisis, and I was losing confidence in my ability to lead. I was getting to the point of trying to stay above water, instead of swimming out to deeper waters, confident that I was ready for the challenge. I was taking more "hits", and I was just plain tired. So this month off has been much needed, and I feel my heart pumping up to get back in the game. I'm ready. I don't think Jesus has released me from this place. I don't know if I'm a founding pastor or a church planter. I just know I'm not done here yet. I don't know if I have what it takes, but I'm praying somehow I'll be given whatever it takes. Is that naive?
Response
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Bill, this is what I need more on. I know the next thing we need is a lay mobilizer/small groups minister. I’ve met him. I know who it is. I want him on staff. He’s an outsider to the town and denomination. If I’m holding back something right now, its saying, “Church, we’re hiring this guy.” There are so many layers of organization to even get a new position on the slate, much less getting budgetary approval and a personnel committee up and running. I’d much rather hand to the personnel committee this feller and say, “Hire him.”
Ugh.
Deep down, I know I’m going to do it, but it won’t hurt to know how you did it.
Jay it came to do this. We had a staff person that needed to fired and the committee wouldn't do. So I bugged them every day, literallly, on the phone telling them how bad the situation was. They didn't want to because they loved him. Finally I wore them down and they said, Okay you fire him. I said Fine as long as you allow me to hire and fire everyone from now on. They said okay. It took about a year.