Connie Jakab talks about being a brave leader but has noticed people who usually don’t see themselves as leaders: people like parents (even though you’re only raising the next generation), teachers (who only have influenced everyone you see today), and entrepreneurs (who bring new ideas to solve problems and lead change in our world). Here’s how she moved past fear.
What changes are you planning in the future? Don’t stay where you are. Keep moving forward. Make sure that as you change, you navigate through some of these challenges in a healthy way. Whenever we implement change, we can either underestimate or overestimate how complicated it can be.
How can you reach more families with young children? Many churches struggle with this question as they find that they are an older congregation or they think they don’t have the volunteer capacity to reach out to families. Here are some simple ways you can reach families with young children that won’t cost you a lot of money and utilize a lot of volunteers.
How many hours a week are you in your community? I encourage pastors to allocate 5 hours a week to be in their community, connecting with non-believers and building bridges of connection to people not a part of the church. Here are some ways to get out of your office and into your community.
Are you a solution provider in your community? Churches often see themselves as "providers of religious goods and services" in the place where they are located. They relegate themselves to society's "faith and religion" aspects and do their best to stay in their lane. However, the Church of Jesus Christ is called to make an impact on the world it is a part of.
Why are you trying to grow your ministry by yourself? From the early days in Jesus’ example to the early church, you’ll read ministry stories in collaboration and partnership. Ministers joined forces and faith to see great things accomplished. Where one lacked, the other contributed and so on. Jesus himself chose to do ministry in teams; these disciples would have had input into Jesus’ life and ministry.
Is your church stuck? Do you find yourself in the tension of organizational structure and relational equity? Once you decide to focus on these seven things, you can begin to work and develop them as you go forward. The blend of organization and organism embedded in each of these areas will keep you growing in numbers while also growing in depth of relationship and commitment to Christ.
Do you manage your time well? Time management is a key component in effective leadership for pastors. Unfortunately, this is an area that many pastors struggle with. The nature of ministry is relational and entrepreneurial; these are often tensions that pull at one another. Is it possible to get things done and develop relationships with people? Here’s a look at how you can excel in managing your time.
What do ABNWT cohorts offer me? Our passion in the ABNWT is to develop a legion of leaders whose sole focus is to obey the Great Commission, lead prevailing, relentlessly outbound ministries, and raise up the next generation of adaptive leaders. Being in a cohort is an opportunity for leaders to skill up and receive support and coaching on some of the biggest internal and external challenges.
What are cohorts, and is there a cohort in the ABNWT for me? Leaders want their ministry to prevail but are challenged to sustain progress against resistance. Here’s where the cohort model comes in: you aren’t alone. You’ll face these challenges with support, resources, encouragement, and peer coaching.
We are now almost two years into a global pandemic. To say that vocational leaders are tired and discouraged would be a colossal understatement. On the front end of it, most seemed to quickly acknowledge, “this isn’t going to be a sprint, we’re going to have to lace up for a marathon.” And pastors did just that.
