One of the things I love most about my role at church is that I get to help, encourage, and equip people of all ages to keep growing in the way they serve Jesus and his people.
It’s something I get genuinely excited about. And, whether someone is in their teenage years or their seventies, there is something deeply exciting about seeing Christians continue to take steps forward in maturity and service.
Over the past few years, one of the questions we’ve been asking ourselves at Trinity Church Colonel Light Gardens and Trinity Church Tonsley is:
How can we help people take their next step in serving Jesus?
One of the wonderful things about church family is that people have all sorts of backgrounds and experiences. Things like age, life-stage, ministry experience, family circumstances, and spiritual maturity all shape what service and leadership look like for each person.
One thing we’re increasingly encouraged by is that almost all of us can have a next step. For some people, that might be joining a serving team for the first time. For others, it could mean becoming more involved in a growth group. For some, it might be stepping into a leadership role.
One of our ongoing prayers as a church is to see God continue working in people’s hearts so that growing in faith and service is a joyful and natural response to his grace. As he captures our hearts more deeply with the good news of Jesus, we pray that everyone would keep asking: What’s my next step?
- What can God teach me?
- How can I grow as a disciple?
- How can I use my time, gifts, and energy to serve Jesus and his church faithfully?
The Leadership Development Program
With that prayer in mind, this year we launched a new program between our two churches called the Leadership Development Program (LDP). We wanted to develop something intentional, supportive, and practical that would help people grow as disciples while serving as a leader of God’s people.
The Leadership Development Program is a one-year program for people who are currently leading, or who are willing to begin some form of leadership role within church life.
Our goal: To help cultivate Christ-like leadership qualities in all participants as we follow Christ’s example and equip each other to serve him for, and with, all our lives.
The program focuses on three key areas of growth:
- Godly character
- Gospel conviction
- Ministry competence and leadership
One of the things I’m most encouraged by this year is the variety of leadership roles represented in the program. Some participants lead in word ministries such as youth ministry, children’s ministry, or Bible study groups. Others lead practical ministry areas like coffee teams, morning tea or setup and pack-up.
Three Key Elements
To help people grow in both maturity and service, the program has three components.
1. Discipleship
As people grow as leaders, we also want to help them grow as disciples. Participants meet with a discipleship partner, usually a more mature Christian, to read the Bible, pray, and apply God’s Word to their life.
2. Ministry Coaching
Each participant meets with a coach who helps them think through leading their ministry area. This includes understanding the goal and purpose of their ministry, caring for their team, developing team members, leading meetings and leadership challenges and opportunities.
3. Group Training
Once a month, all participants gather for training workshops. We start by sharing a simple meal and then hear from a trainer on a particular topic.
This year’s training workshops have included:
- self-awareness
- humility and ambition in leadership
- using our time well
- prayer
- leading meetings
- handling God’s Word
- mission and evangelism
- Ecclesiology
Looking Ahead
Next year we’re really looking forward to partnering with other Trinity Network Churches in the southern region to run this program together.
Our prayer is that this program is one way that we continue raising up disciples who love Jesus deeply, serve his people well, and are increasingly equipped to make and grow other disciples. When God’s people keep growing and serving together, the whole church is strengthened.
