Seven Ways to Become a Better Ministry Leader.
The church needs stronger leaders, who are in ministry for the long-term. I hope this article helps you grow in your leadership and gives you some tools that can help you flourish in ministry for a long time. Here are seven ways that will help you become a better leader.
Don’t forget Jesus – When I was in youth ministry, I got caught up in doing the work for Jesus, over being with Jesus. I felt like I became a professional Christian. Jesus cares more about our hearts than He cares about the success of our ministry. Remember what Jesus said in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” Schedule time with Jesus. Planning a message or lesson, does not count!
Be smart about change – Knowing how to bring change is a big part of your role as a ministry leader. Bringing change can make or break your leadership.
Here are a few ideas on how to institute strategic change.
Make sure people know you care about them, more than you care about your change-agenda.
Cast your vision and ideas clearly to influential leaders who can help champion your plan. The senior pastor needs to be at the top of this list!
Create a ministry team focused on strategic planning, policies, accountability. When you face conflict over changes, you can have people address their problems with the team.
Introduce changes that create quick wins for everyone involved and celebrate these “wins.” This helps people see that change can be good.
Stop being well-rounded. God has given you certain talents that you are called to steward. You will have the most success when you focus on your strengths over your weaknesses. According to the Corporate Leadership Council production is -26.8% when the focus is on weaknesses. When you try to be good at everything, you end up being average in a lot of areas. A good way to start is by taking the CliftonStrengths Assessment at https://www.gallupstrengthscenter.com
Boundaries – When I look back at my time in youth ministry, I see how much I struggled making clear boundaries. I want you to learn from the mistakes I made and help you to have a long-term healthy run in ministry leadership. Without boundaries, the chance of a quick burnout is high, and a burned-out leader is useless.
Healthy Delegation – If you are doing everything as the leader you will not empower others and you will burnout. Healthy delegation is not giving jobs away you do not want to do, but it is giving away authority. Pastor and author, Craig Groeschel, said, “If you delegate tasks you will build followers. If you delegate authority you will build leaders.” Start by looking at your team and ask, “What am I currently doing that someone could do better?” This will begin to free you to focus on what you do best and everyone “wins” with this approach.
Get Coached – There are no Olympians without coaches. Coaches help bring out the best in others. You already possess what you need to be successful, but sometimes you need someone to pull it out of you, and that is what coaches do. Coaches can also help with goals, accountability, giving an outside and unbiased perspective, and helping you understand how to maximize your strengths in your context, while managing your weakness. If you want to learn more about coaching, check out our services at http://www.vision2-10.com/work/#/strengthbased-professional-development-coaching/
Never stop learning – Leaders are learners! When you stop learning as a leader, you become a manager. Managers are good at maintaining, but they stop innovating. Leaders who manage, lead to “stale” organizations. At the beginning of the year, create a Personal Leadership Development Plan for the year (learn more on PLDP here). This plan will help you be strategic with your learning, and people are more inclined to follow-through when it is written down.
Which area do you need to focus on first? Start by creating some goals in the area you need the most improvement. Do not try to do these all at once. We are here to help you at Vision 2-10.