EP 298 – You Don’t Have to Do It Alone: Practical Steps for Leadership Development
Here we are, back at the Bootcamp and back at it again! I’m excited about this episode because we’re diving into one of the most important topics we return to over and over on this podcast—equipping others for ministry. If you’ve listened for a while, you know Ephesians 4:11–16 is probably the most quoted passage on the Bootcamp. It reminds us that ministry isn’t just about us doing the work but about raising up and equipping others.
To help me unpack this, I’ve got two of my fellow NAMB Replant team members, Brandon Moore and Evan Skelton, joining me. Together we dig into the widening leadership gap the church is facing—fewer pastors stepping into ministry, an aging pastoral workforce, declining seminary enrollment, and the reality that most churches can no longer afford a full-time pastor.
But instead of just focusing on the challenges, we talk through what this means for us as leaders in normative-sized churches and, more importantly, what we can do about it. Here are a few of the things we hit on:
- Why we need to recover a biblical vision of leadership development (Ephesians 4 and 2 Timothy 2:2).
- Why bi-vocational ministry is increasingly a reality, and how we should view it as a viable calling.
- How to spot potential leaders in your congregation—starting with character, not competency.
- Why prayer for laborers is the very first step Jesus gives us (Luke 10:2).
- The importance of creating a culture where people can step out, try, fail, and grow without fear.
- Practical steps for moving from “sage on the stage” to “guide at the side.”
We also talk about the resources we’ve been working on to help churches actually implement this. Over at renewalmovement.com, you’ll find a quick-start guide on developing a replant residency as well as upcoming cohorts designed to walk alongside pastors who want to raise up leaders. These are not pie-in-the-sky ideas—they’re built from the real experiences of guys who’ve been doing this work in the field.
If you’re pastoring a normative-sized church and feeling the weight of trying to do it all alone, this conversation is for you. You don’t have to carry the load by yourself. God has placed people in your congregation who can grow into leaders—you just need to start praying, looking, and investing.
Take a listen, and I hope you’ll be encouraged to take one small step this week toward developing leaders in your church.
leadership, leadership development
