Reaching the World by Investing in Leaders

Want to reach the world? Invest in leaders. It’s a time-tested strategy, practiced by people from Luther to Paul, Spurgeon to Jesus. The theory is simple: we can accomplish more in Christian ministry if we focus our energy on training leaders. If we apply this idea to missions, we recognize that we can make more converts, engage more people groups, and start more churches if we prioritize leadership development.

Imitate the Leader of Leaders

Before we explore specific strategies for multiplying missional leaders, it’s important to remember the foundation we stand upon. As Robert Coleman pointed out in his classic text The Master Plan of Evangelism, Jesus invested in twelve men who would change the world. This idea has been given fresh artistic expression in the Netflix series The Chosen, which chronicles the stories of those chosen by Jesus to be his disciples.

To accomplish his mission, Jesus could have summoned angels or started a seminar series. Instead, he selected men who were probably unqualified and then he developed them into leaders who would serve on the missional frontier.

Our task is the same. As leaders, our capacity is finite. But if we multiply ourselves into leaders, as Jesus did, we can exponentially multiply the mission. I’d like to suggest five ways we could imitate Jesus’ method for developing missional leaders.

First, we should spend time with emerging leaders.

Jesus ate with his disciples, prayed with his disciples, and walked all over Galilee with his disciples. This was a time-intensive process, one that provided the necessary margin to speak into the lives of these emerging leaders. Jesus heard Peter’s doubt about the wisdom of the cross and corrected his theology (Mark 8:31-33). Jesus heard the Sons of Thunder as they longed to call down fire on their enemies, and he rebuked them. He noted how the disciples jockeyed for power, and he called them to service (Mark 9:33-37). Jesus was part of the fabric of the lives of the Twelve. He was close enough to inspire them, close enough to challenge them.

Some might think that this type of leadership development can only happen organically, and so we should avoid any sort of systematic plan. But I believe that is a mistaken idea. Spending time with leaders should not be an excuse for haphazard disciple-making. Instead, it should be focused and intentional, embracing all of life. For me, this means giving leaders access to my life, so that we can be transformed together. It means focusing together on growth in three areas: gospel, church, and culture. Developing missional leaders does not happen by accident. It is intentionally focused and embedded in all of life.

Second, we should trust our leaders.

We must resist the urge to be micromanagers in the house of God. Yes, elders have oversight of the flock of God. But they also have a responsibility to equip the saints to do the work of ministry. Jesus trusted his disciples to take his message from village to village (Luke 9:1-6). He gave them power and authority over demons and disease. He sent them out to accomplish part of his mission. Surely, the disciples were not as gifted as their Rabbi. And yet, Jesus trusted them with a responsibility that staggers the imagination.

If we are going to multiply missional leaders, we must trust them with responsibility. We should let them join the preaching team. We should let them lead training sessions. They should become elders-in-training. We must let them have oversight over key ministries. When we trust leaders on the missional frontier, we invite others to step up and join us when the stakes are high.

Third, we should let our leaders fail.

When we trust our leaders to do hard things, inevitably they will stumble. We stumbled too. None of us mastered preaching, evangelism, discipleship, or leadership on the first try. Jesus’ disciples failed too. They unsuccessfully tried to cast out a demon (Matthew 17:14-16).

Learning often happens through failure. Jesus allowed his emerging leaders to fail, and so should we. When leaders fail, they are confronted with their own inadequacies. They are forced to grapple with their need for growth in terms of both character and competence. Of course, failure is not a panacea. It does not automatically lead to improvement. For that to happen, the next step is crucial.

Fourth, we should follow up with our leaders.

Those of us who train missional leaders must not simply point people in a direction and give them a mission. We must build meetings into our routine that provide us with opportunities for continuous feedback. We can view these sessions as a chance to discuss opportunities for growth. Without this vital feedback, emerging leaders will be robbed of the chance to grow through their experiences. In fact, Jesus debriefed with his disciples when they could not replicate his success (Matthew 17:17-21). We would be wise to follow his example.

Fifth, we should challenge our leaders to repeat the process.

Before Jesus returned to heaven, he challenged the newly developed leaders to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:16-20). The process that Jesus modeled was one that they were to repeat. In the words of Paul, faithful men teach faithful men, who teach other faithful men (2 Timothy 2:2).

This simple, 5-step process for developing missional leaders is not rocket science. It is something that has been modeled for us by our Rabbi, Jesus of Nazareth. It is an ancient approach, and it is still the key to multiplying leaders on the missional frontier.