The Leaders We Need: People Whose Answer to Jesus Is Yes
Canada is experiencing a troubling trend. Christianity is declining, and while many churches are experiencing renewal, the overall direction remains concerning.
We cannot simply accept that trajectory. Our mission as a District is to interrupt the trend of decreasing Christianity in Canada. In a sense, we are trying to intercept the ball and send the play in a different direction.
But how do we do that? Our vision gives us the answer:
“To call up, develop, and resource Spirit-empowered, catalytic leaders who courageously follow God’s limitless call.”
Those words are important. But what do we actually mean by a Spirit-empowered leader? When you hear that phrase, who comes to mind?
Perhaps you picture a dynamic communicator. A visionary. Someone with a magnetic personality. Someone through whom God seems to move in extraordinary ways. And certainly, those can be expressions of the Spirit’s work.
But Scripture paints a much broader picture. Think about Esther. Daniel. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Joseph. Mary, the mother of Jesus. These people are not primarily remembered for their charisma, platform, or public presence. They are remembered for their obedience. And that should cause us to think differently about what it means to develop leaders.
Development Is More Than Competency
We talk about calling people up, developing them, and resourcing them. Calling someone up means recognizing something in them that they may not yet see in themselves and challenging them to step into it. But development can easily become focused on skills and competencies: preaching ability, strategic thinking, organizational leadership, communication, administration and other leadership skills.
Those things matter. We absolutely need them. But development means something deeper. One definition of develop is “to work out the possibilities of” something through deliberate effort over time.
That raises an important question: What are we actually trying to develop in people?
The Bible suggests we should develop something deeper than ministry competency. We are developing people who are learning to walk in obedience to God.
Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Obedience isn’t an optional extra in following Jesus. It is part of what it means to follow Him.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously wrote, “You can only learn what obedience is by obeying.” And Scripture gives us example after example of people whose character was formed through repeated acts of obedience.
Esther was developed in obscurity before she was placed in a position to influence a nation. Mordecai reminded her that perhaps she had come to her royal position “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14).
Daniel was developed through repeated decisions not to compromise long before he ever entered the lions’ den. When the king’s decree made prayer dangerous, Daniel continued his established practice of praying to God (Daniel 6:10). Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had already settled whom they would worship before the furnace was ever heated. Their response to Nebuchadnezzar was remarkable: “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us... But if not... we will not serve your gods” (Daniel 3:17–18).
Joseph faithfully followed God through years of difficulty long before Pharaoh knew his name. Even in circumstances he could not understand, God was forming him for what was ahead (Genesis 37–41).
David tended sheep long before he sat on a throne (1 Samuel 16–17).
Moses spent forty years in Midian before God called him to lead Israel out of Egypt (Exodus 2:15–3:10).
God develops people long before He displays them. That means we have to be careful not to look only for the brightest spark. We need the spark. We need gifted communicators, visionaries, innovators and leaders who can carry significant influence.
But those things alone don’t make someone Spirit-empowered. Development isn’t primarily about increasing someone’s competency. It is about increasing their capacity to say yes to God.
The Yes Leader
Imagine a generation of leaders whose automatic response to God is, “Yes.”
God:
“I want you to do this.”
“Yes.”
“I want you to go there.”
“Yes.”
“I want you to stay.”
“Yes.”
“I want you to leave what is comfortable and step into something you cannot fully understand.”
“Yes.”
That doesn’t mean the leader knows how everything will work out. It means they have already settled the greater question of obedience.
That is what we see in Esther when she responds to the possibility of great personal cost: “If I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16). That is what we see in Daniel when he continues to pray even when doing so becomes dangerous (Daniel 6:10). That is what we see in Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when they refuse to bow, regardless of whether God delivers them from the consequences (Daniel 3:16–18).
These are Spirit-empowered leaders, not necessarily because they are the loudest. Not because they have the biggest platform. Not because they have the most impressive résumé. But because they have learned to say yes.
Mary gives us perhaps one of the clearest examples. When the angel announced God’s extraordinary plan for her life, she responded, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
That is a leader whose answer is yes.
Obedience Is Often Costly
The problem is that obedience doesn’t always look like the best decision from the outside.
Early in ministry, we faced a choice between two options. One offered significantly more financial security. The other meant taking a position at a church for considerably less money. We chose the second option.
At the time, with a young family and all the normal financial pressures of life, it wasn’t easy.
Years later, driving past the place where we used to live, the question came up: If you could go back, would you change anything? The answer was immediate: “No.” Not because it was easy. Not because we had some extraordinary wisdom that everyone else lacked.
We learned something important: The safest place to be is in the centre of God’s will, even when it doesn’t look like the best idea.
Sometimes God calls you down a road where you cannot see the trail. You look ahead and think, God, there isn’t even a path here. And God says, You don’t have to see the path. You have to see Me.
That is faith.
Hebrews describes the Christian life as “the race that is set before us” and calls us to run it with endurance, “looking to Jesus” (Hebrews 12:1–2). Notice where our focus is directed. Not on having every detail figured out. Not on knowing exactly where the road leads. Looking to Jesus.
Proverbs reminds us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). That is the kind of leadership we need to cultivate.
Limitless Doesn’t Mean Bigger
Our vision speaks about following God’s limitless call. But limitless doesn’t necessarily mean bigger.
In ministry, we can easily assume that God’s limitless call means a bigger church, a bigger platform, a larger worship team, greater influence or a more prominent position. But what if limitless means God decides the boundaries?
He may call someone to lead a large church. He may call someone to plant a church. He may call someone to revitalize a struggling congregation. He may call someone to serve in the Northwest Territories. He may call someone to missions. He may call someone to spend a season in a place most people have never heard of.
The call is limitless because we don’t get to put limits around where, how, through whom, or at what cost God might call someone.
Paul reminds us that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand” (Ephesians 2:10). Our responsibility isn’t to manufacture the assignment. It is to discover what God has prepared and walk in it faithfully.
That is the kind of culture we want to build across our District. We aren’t simply developing leaders for ministry positions. We are forming men and women who know the voice of God, recognize His leading and have the character to keep saying yes when obedience costs them something.
What Kind of Leaders Are We Raising?
As we think about the next generation of pastors and leaders across Alberta and the Northwest Territories, the most important question may not be: How do we produce more influential leaders? Maybe the better question is: Are we raising leaders whose answer to Jesus is always yes? Because that’s reproducible.
A young leader may look at an extraordinary pastor and think, I could never do what they do. And perhaps they’re right. They don’t need to become that person. They need to learn that they can say yes just as that person said yes. They can follow when God calls. They can obey when the path isn’t clear. They can remain faithful when leaving would be easier. They can repent quickly. They can give opportunities away. They can wait. They can refuse to manipulate outcomes. They can trust God. They can say yes.
Paul’s words to Timothy capture this multiplication beautifully: “What you have heard from me... entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).
That is what leadership development is ultimately about—not simply producing impressive leaders, but forming faithful ones who can form others. That is the kind of leader we want to call up, develop and resource. Because if we raise leaders who continually say yes to Jesus, we won’t have to convince them to embrace God’s call. They will already be listening for His voice. And when He says, “Follow me,” their answer will be, “Yes.”
That is how we interrupt the trend. That is how we raise catalytic leaders. And that is how we courageously follow God’s limitless call.
Ready to Say Yes?
If God is calling you to grow as a leader, you don’t have to figure it out alone. Catalytic Leader Cohorts help emerging and established leaders grow in character, discernment, leadership capacity, and obedience to God’s call—alongside others learning to say yes to Jesus.
You don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need to be willing to say yes.
Join a Catalytic Leader Cohort and take your next step in following God’s limitless call.
Corey Randell serves as the District Superintendent at the ABNWT District of The PAOC. Corey is known for his passion and ‘tell it like it is’ speaking style. He believes there are no impossible situations but that every challenge is an opportunity to witness the miraculous. His passion is to mobilize people to rethink church, reach others and encounter the power of God in today’s world.