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jlabip clo o^fpfkd rm `ero`e mi^kqbop How Churches Become More Effective Through Intentional Leadership Development by Glenn Smith Connecting Innovators to Multiply www.leadnet.org The absence of strong leadership is the number- in the boot camp when coaches will be present to one reason church plants fail. This sentiment help. The entire process is organized around five seems to be a widespread view among pastors personal operating questions: and ministry leaders who are seriously engaging in church planting. • Who am I? • What am I called to do? “Everything rises and falls on leadership,” adds • Who will do it with me? Nolen Rollins the missions pastor at • How will we do it? Summit Church in Bonita Springs, FL • How will we evaluate our progress? (http://www.summitlife.com). “Our success is based on God being with us, but church planters must lead!” In the Intensive Church Planter’s Training Program the emphasis is not on “presenting” but on Today a growing number of churches in our “facilitating.” Effective facilitating is based upon country desire to advance the kingdom of God the principles of discovery learning. Bob Logan through the multiplication of new churches. says, “The great teachers of the past—Jesus as Many of these churches are catching a vision for the best example—have always used discovery- starting multiple churches every year, churches learning principles.” Bob believes that this is that will then in turn reproduce aggressively. To the best way for adults to learn so he has made accomplish this vision, these church-planting this a core philosophy of his training system. churches are very purposeful in how they train The obvious strength of this approach is the their church planters.1 They see training as guided self-discovery which usually leads to a foundational to the success of a new church. deeper integration of learning. However, some However, they use a wide variety of models, all leaders desire more information and knowledge designed to address critical issues in an before engaging in the intensive reflection and intentional manner. This concept paper will coaching process. examine five leadership models for how to train church planters and then surface some of the Another example of an intensive approach is critical issues that leading trainers of church nicknamed turbo training. One group that offers planters most commonly address. turbo training is GlocalNet, a church planting network birthed out of Northwood Church in Keller, TX (http://www.northwoodchurch.org). fåíÉåëáîÉ ^ééêç~ÅÜÉë Lance Ford, the director of GlocalNet and the Church Planting Center of Northwood One of the most popular ways that churches train says, “You can’t always have the church church planting leaders is an intensive approach, planters with you for several weeks or months of often referred to as a boot camp. In a boot camp training.” He uses a curriculum entitled The leaders come together for two to four days for a Essentials for Starting a Missional Church concentrated, intensive training experience. One developed by New Church Initiatives (see example of this is the Intensive Church Planter’s http://www.nciglobal.org/training/index.htm). Training Program designed by Bob Logan (http://www.coachnet.org/en/churchmultiplication). The turbo training approach is an intensive two- In this model church planting leaders invest a day experience where church planting leaders significant amount of time prior to the week of receive a substantial amount of content, training. In their pre-training preparation they interspersed with small group process and work through multiple worksheets and exercises. interaction. This system is designed to help This is absolutely essential because the training leaders understand the “essential questions” that experience itself is built around focusing and they must be wrestling with in their development refining through personal coaching. The process. Strong emphasis is placed on “principles preparation has two primary objectives: 1) To of design.” This material does not promote any provide the leader an opportunity for prayerful particular style or structure of church, but stresses reflection and personal discussions about the that leaders must learn to think contextually and specific church they anticipate starting, and 2) to missionally. The essential questions and prepare the leader to apply his or her reflections principles of design guide church planters in their 2 process of creating a new church. “It gives them foundation as well. However, there is usually an understanding of the fundamentals in church little opportunity or guidance for individual or planting,” says Lance. “It puts planters on the group process. right road for where they need to go.” The two-day turbo training is then followed— qê~áåáåÖ `ä~ëëÉë Ñçê `ÜìêÅÜ mä~åíáåÖ typically a month later—with a third day training iÉ~ÇÉêë that focuses on making missional disciples and While most church-planting churches value the leaders in a new church. The strength of this boot camps or intensive training events, some system is its emphasis on a missional believe that training needs to be spread out over ecclesiology. It defines missional as acting and several weeks or several months in order for there behaving like a missionary. Thus the church to be better assimilation and integration of community both sees itself and functions just as learning. West Ridge Church in Atlanta, GA if it was a missionary. This system challenges (http://www.westridgechurch.org) is one example. church planting leaders to think carefully and Jim Akins is the church planting director at West critically about what they are doing. However, Ridge. Jim says, “I prefer to stretch the training while there is some processing built in to the out over nine months. We meet one Saturday event, this system does require intentional follow- every month for the entire day.” According to Jim, through and coaching afterward for real learning “planters don’t have time to process their learning and integration to take place. Follow up coaching when it comes too fast. They don’t know what to is strongly encouraged through the turbo do with it.” West Ridge Church is a part of training experience. the GlocalNet Network. Jim and his senior pastor Several other groups use a more content-driven Brian Bloye use Essentials boot camp approach. The Acts 29 Network for Starting a Missional (http://www.a29.org) offers such a training Church. They spread out the experience several times each year. The Acts 29 content of the curriculum Network was birthed out of Mars Hill Church in over nine months. Seattle, WA (http://www.marshillchurch.org). Mark Driscoll, who has become an extremely Each month the planters in popular teacher and leader among younger training receive assign- pastors in America, is the primary presenter. The ments to complete. At the Acts 29 Boot Camp places a strong emphasis on monthly meeting they Reformed Theology, male eldership, and At West Ridge training is spread report on how they are contextualizing the gospel for current culture. out over several weeks or several applying previous learning. Another example of a more content-driven months to increase assimilation This is sometimes done in approach is the Church Planter Training and integration of learning. written form but usually it provided by Global Church Advancement is done orally within the (http://www.gca.cc). Steve Childress is the group. They then share something new that they primary presenter for this multi-day training learned from that month’s experience. Finally, event, usually offered once or twice a year in the they share something that they have come to U.S. Bob Cargo of Perimeter Church in Atlanta, realize they need in their personal development. GA (http://www.perimeter.org) says, “I encourage During these months the planters in training are all the church planters in our denomination— exposed to key staff and former church planters Presbyterian Churches in America—to attend this from West Ridge. They all share personal stories training.” A few of the denominational groups, and give examples of some of their best practices. such as the North American Mission Board of the Jim says “I want our planters in training to see Southern Baptist Convention, offer a similar both theory and practice.” He is beginning to training. These multi-day, content-driven events work more closely with some Bible colleges and are very popular, in part due to the strength of seminaries. “Our dream is to become an gifted presenters utilizing substance rich material. education site for church planters.” Jim expects Groups like Acts 29 and Global Church his trainees to begin the planting process before Advancement present a very strong theological the nine months are completed. Last year West 3 Ridge Church planted four churches, all of which A key resource that has been influencing the launched with over 200 people. development of the Renovation Center concept is the book Journey into Mission Church by Dwight A variation of this longer-term training approach Smith and Robert Mountford. Chad Clarkson, the is the Renovation Center concept developed pastor of missions and church planting at Clear by Jeff Shipman, pastor at Columbia Creek Community Church in League City, TX Crossroads Church in Columbia, SC (http://www.clearcreek.org) is another partner in (http://www.columbiacrossroads.org). While Jeff the Infinity Network. Chad encourages his group encourages all of his church planters to go to work through the book while actually having through boot camps and other intensive Dwight come in periodically to speak to his experiences, he focuses on an ongoing planters. “We want our planters to reproduce developmental relationship through the churches with this DNA. That’s our aim.” The Renovation Center. “We want to use whatever uniqueness of this approach is that it is resources are already available for training,” says geographically based.

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