Archive for leadership

Why Not Write Your Own Job Description?

jobdescWHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? A common, growing practice in leadership communities is for people to write their own job descriptions for their roles. Doing so tends to lead to greater understanding of their responsibilities and ownership of their work. So why not write one for your role in Sunday School?

WHAT DO I DO? So what do you need to write one? Allow these questions to foster your thinking:

  • How does your role fit into the purpose of your church’s Bible study or small group ministry?
  • What goals does your church have that your role supports?
  • What are the special actions you take each week? Each month? Each quarter?
  • What are the expectations that your leader has for your role?
  • How has God gifted you to perform this role in your congregation?

When you finish, look over what you have. When you accomplish the description you have written, how will your group be reaching and growing people in the service of our Lord? Be committed to do what the Lord has impressed on your heart. Hold yourself accountable for what you have written. In fact, think about the goals you can develop for your group’s ministry based on this job description. Pray for the Lord’s harvest through your willingness and commitment.

Find other group leaders and share what you have done. Help them develop their own job descriptions.

Enlist Teens to Serve as Class Leaders in Student Classes

volunteerWHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? In 2 Timothy 2:2 (ESV), Paul encourages Timothy, a young pastor to be strengthened in Christ “and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” Teens communicate, care, and reach out to teens best. Enlist, train, and mobilize them to carry out the work of the group.

WHAT DO I DO? Take these steps:

  1. ask God to send teen workers (Matthew 9:38),
  2. observe what students are saying and doing,
  3. take students with you (in pairs) for life and group ministry,
  4. ask them questions to reflect upon their experiences,
  5. when you are sure the teen is the one, ask him/her to pray about joining the team to carry out group work,
  6. provide a simple job description and continue to give on-the-job training,
  7. continue to encourage and coach the student, and
  8. encourage the student leader to go through the same steps to enlist an apprentice.

Following these steps will help teens gain confidence and competence so they will say yes to you and God when you ask them to join you. Don’t try to do the work alone. Prayerfully enlist, develop, and mobilize teens into service. Guide them to be fulfilled and fulfulling as they carry out the work of the group!

Coach a New Leader to Thrive

WHY IS THIS IlearnleadMPORTANT? How do you handle a new leader in your Sunday School? Every year, we develop new leaders to help us in Sunday School. How familiar do these ideas sound?

  • You hand them a job description.
  • You provide training opportunities for them.
  • You take the time to lay out a plan of action.

For some reason, though, you still wonder if they have caught the vision and understand the role. Have you done what you can? Now, will they own the vision and  commit to the needed steps and actions?

WHAT DO I DO? How about using a coaching approach with the new leader? The leadership coaching approach encourages you to do the following:

  • Listen to their thoughts about what they think they should do. Hear their ideas and thoughts about ways to accomplish their goals. Listen for their fears and concerns.
  • Ask powerful, open-ended questions that get them to define their goals, their options to complete their work, and ways they can meet their goals. Here are some examples:
    • What do you want to accomplish in your class?
    • What are your options for completing this work?
    • Who else can you get involved with you?
    • What is one step you can take to accomplish this goal?
  • Help the new leader decide specific steps they can take and how they can create an accountability structure to get the work done.

This approach can lead to action, accountability, and growth of the new leader. Try it this year!

Pick up the Training Pace after Enlistment

PaceWHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? You asked God to send a leader. You began to look around for the leader God sent. You began observing the life of the leader and spending time with the leader doing life and class ministry together. When you were sure the leader was ready, you asked him/her to join you. When the leader said yes, that is a teachable moment. There is openness to learning and being led. Take advantage of the interest!

WHAT DO I DO? Consider the following:

  • pray for and with the leader,
  • write out a list of the major areas of responsibility,
  • share the list with the leader,
  • work through each item on the list (do them),
  • after carrying out each item on the list, ask questions and debrief the experience,
  • make assignments to the leader, asking him/her to enlist someone to help with each,
  • debrief the assignments, who helped, and how he/she did,
  • listen well, be generous in your affirmation, and offer ideas for next time (when there are areas for improvement),
  • increase the frequency of assignments, and
  • encourage taking initiative to carry out the assigned area of responsibility.

EXAMPLE. For each area of responsibility, the above list will look different. For instance, when training an apprentice teacher, you will focus conversation and practice on teaching, reaching, and caring duties. And you might give them one Sunday per month to teach at first but work toward 3-4 weeks per month before sending them out to teach their own class.

Lead Your Apprentice to Pray for and Pursue an Apprentice

LookingFarWHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? In many churches, there is a leadership crisis. More leaders are needed to care for members AND to reach out to new people. Added to this, the teacher cannot do all of the work of the class. Leadership multiplication continues when an apprentice pours into another apprentice. Keep in mind the words of Paul: “and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2, ESV).

WHAT DO I DO? You have prayed, observed, and assigned ministry to your apprentice. You have enlisted the leader to come alongside of you to carry out important work of the class. You have picked up the training pace after enlistment. Now what? Lead him/her to pray and pursue an apprentice!

Before you finish investing in your apprentice, lead the leader to do what you did. Lead the leader to ask God to send a potential leader (Matthew 9:47). Lead him/her to begin observing people in class and beyond the class. Tell him/her to notice when God seems to be directing attention toward an individual. Lead him/her to notice what God is doing in the life of the potential apprentice. And encourage him/her to begin to spend time with that potential leader doing life and class ministry together.

When your apprentice prays for and pursues another apprentice, everything you do with and say to your apprentice becomes more important. Class ministry and Kingdom work are expanded.