No matter where you’re reading this from, this past year has been unlike any other. The world has changed and perspectives have shifted. Norms, standards, and daily rituals, like getting up and driving to work, are no longer common practices. The upcoming generation is facing new challenges and circumstances that even 10 years ago we wouldn’t have given a second thought.

What does that look like for leadership in ministry? How do we raise successful leaders as we aim to influence the next generation?

A key component of your ministry's success is the leaders you raise. Yes, the end goal of all ministries is to transform lives, leading people to Jesus. But what happens when we can enable those after us to pursue things even greater than we are called to? What if we can mine, find, and refine the gold in people? The impact we would have would be substantially larger. It would no longer be based on “who can I reach,” but a network of individuals living out his/her God-given calling. Could this be the most significant impact we make as ministry leaders?

I have observed three different ministries styles:

Top-down
We have a great vision, we find leaders to help us reach that vision, and if they are not adding value to our vision they simply get cut. Leaders are simply reduced to a cog, enroute to our mandate.
Team-based with one end goal
We surround ourselves with a group of people to rally, raise up, and make our vision grow. We care about each member of the team, but the end goal is still our mandate.
Empower and release
This is the riskiest and hardest approach. Create a team that will empower each individual to become everything that God has called them to be, even at the expense of our own success. It isn’t about us getting to the top, it is getting as many team members further than we could ever reach. Sometimes the greatest leaders we raise will leave us or take things further than us. But isn’t that the point?

So how do we do it? How do we empower and release the next generation of leaders? I believe that it stems from our identity and if we know Whose and who we are. If we are secure as sons and daughters, then we know the vision is His. The ministry is His, not mine. When we lead out of that identity, we can freely raise leaders and empower them knowing full well it might not directly benefit us.

I remember spending many hours investing in a young leader only to have him leave our ministry after a short time. This was so discouraging! What did I do wrong? I gave time, experiences, opportunity, and life on life moments. Yet he felt God leading him to his next. In that process, God revealed what true leadership empowerment looks like. God used me to “mine the gold” for what God has for his life. I now celebrate his great success rather than have disappointment.

If you are looking for ways to be a good leader for this emerging generation, you must ask yourself “what am I secure in, and where does my identity lie? Am I willing to risk investing in younger generations to have them excel and supersede me? Can I celebrate the success of others for the advancement of the kingdom?” If you aren’t secure in your heart when an empowered leader leaves your ministry, it can feel like a failure. Instead, it could be an opportunity to impact the kingdom and leave a legacy beyond your scope or ability alone.

The future of our movement isn’t in great buildings, programs, methods, or systems but instead, it is the Spirit empowering us to raise sons and daughters to supersede us. I pray that the Spirit would lead each of us to an identity so secure in God, we will be able to see the “gold” to call forth others to their full potential so that this next generation will be the greatest generation of leaders to lead. I don’t get nervous about that – I get excited and want to do everything to hand them the baton as quickly as I can.

Will you join me?

Travis Holownia is Executive Director/Visionary Founder of Resurgence Initiatives, a Christian ministry started in 2008 seeking to inspire people to arise together. Resurgence gathers and releases people who expect the impossible, experience God’s love, empower those around them, and engage in expanding God’s Kingdom. In addition, he travels as a communicator in churches, conferences, and camps.