It’s been an exciting journey. Exciting to hear story after story of women and men of all ages discerning more clearly how God wants to weave them into his mission and ministry. Exciting to see people stepping out of their comfort zones in their places of work, community groups, homes and churches to lead more like Jesus. Exciting to hear of ministries growing, more people coming to know Christ and communities being impacted for good.
Yet I wonder. Have you noticed?
Changes in Context
If you’ve been around a while, have you noticed that developing leaders today is a little different to 20 years ago.
And if you are new to leadership, have you noticed that how you approach things is a little different to those who’ve been around a while.
20 years after launching the Growing Leaders Course, we decided to do some research into how developing leaders has changed over the last two decades. The results were significant.
We identified 32 factors influencing leadership development today. Yes, 32. Some big, some small. But all significant. Things like:
There are still churches who are struggling to replace ‘volunteers’ who stepped down during the pandemic. There is a spiral that many clergy find themselves in. They are having to do more things that previously were being done by others, which means they have less time to identify, develop and deploy new leaders.
There seems to be a tendency for people in congregations to be willing to ‘help out’ but be commitment/responsibility reluctant.
Patterns of attendance have changed. Forty years ago, a ‘regular’ church attendee would attend church twice on a Sunday. Twenty years ago, it was perhaps once a Sunday. Ten years ago, every other week, now once a month is considered regular by some. This also means people dip in and out of courses, are less likely to attend a long course.
Gen Z and Alpha tend toward a shorter attention span, consuming things in small ‘chunks’. Those who research this tell us that the average attention span on screen has dropped from two and a half minutes in 2004 to 47 seconds in 2023.
The increased awareness of neurodiversity means higher expectations around reasonable adjustments with regard how people engage and learn.
Peoples’ availability to lead things in gathered church has diminished, partly due to changes in working patterns – shift work, both partners in a couple working outside the home, retirement age getting older, cost of living crisis requiring people to work longer hours, those who are retired taking on responsibilities for care of grandchildren.
There is a much greater awareness of whole-life discipleship, of what it means to be Christian Monday to Saturday and not just on Sunday. Many are looking for help with how to lead in their workplace, community, school or home.
The increase in both the number of and size of Multi-Parish Benefices in most dioceses means that clergy often have less time to spend getting to know people. This can make it harder for them to discern others’ gifts and calling and to help them grow as leaders.
Those running Growing Leaders courses talk about the low level of biblical literacy and discipleship. This corresponds with our own experience as we listen to church leaders around the country
When taking on leadership responsibilities there are additional expectations / compliance requirements that have arisen over the last decade or so e.g. safer recruiting, safeguarding training, first aid training and so on. This adds to the ‘hurdle’ of getting involved and puts some people off.
Some young people aspire to be ‘influencers’ rather than ‘leaders’, and don’t see leadership as something to aspire to.
Many of the younger generation are looking for authenticity in leaders, often demonstrated through vulnerability, but older generations may well have been taught not to express much vulnerability.
These factors, and many others, got us thinking. If we long to see people grow as leaders, what are the guiding principles for our context today?
Leadership Development Shaped By…
Focus
A focus that is more ‘formation as Jesus-shaped leaders in practice’ than ‘information about leadership’. No change here. This has always been the path for leadership development in the Church. It is about the inner life as much as the outer life of the leader. We know Jesus’ priority for every leader is to be a follower before a leader. Much of that formation takes place ‘on the job’ rather than in the classroom, which is why the apprentice model is so effective.
Approach
An approach that is as much discover and explore as teach and reflect. As someone put it, the younger generation are looking for a ‘guide by their side not a sage on the stage’. It isn’t that teaching isn’t a part of a robust pedagogy, but that the approach to learning involves a blended learning style that encompasses a broad range of engagement.
Methodology
A methodology that is more just-in-time rather than just-in-case. It helps when training meets people where they are and takes them on the next stage of the journey rather than trying to front load everything they will ever need. People are also used to tailored and bespoke in many areas of life, which is good, but it can run the danger of encouraging unhelpful individualism, which counters one of the biblical insights into leadership – that it is best learned and exercised in community.
Expectation
An expectation that is realistic and grounded both for those helping others to develop in their leadership and those on the receiving end of such help. The former are busy and have little time to prepare. The latter are reluctant to sign up to long term commitments.
These are some of the principles that might shape our approach today. And they are behind an exciting new suite of resources we’re launching in spring 2027.
The Developing Leaders Suite
We still believe that a biblical and wholistic approach to leadership development is vital. The framework for healthy leadership development hasn’t changed (covenant, call, character, competence, community), but the application of that framework has.
So, we’ve created the Developing Leaders Suite, six resources to help you as a busy church leader. We aim to have something for every church context. Some require little time or energy, others a greater commitment. But all are designed to enable you as a leader to identify, nurture and encourage others in their leadership. Everyone from the person who doesn’t see themselves as a leader but in whom you see potential, to those who are already exercising significant leadership responsibility, and you want to take them further on.
We knew that a further revision of the existing Growing Leaders course wasn’t enough, so we started from the ground up and created three new courses called Growing as Leaders which are the final part of the Suite:
Course 1 Exploring Christian Leadership is primarily for those who aren’t already in a leadership role, and may well not see themselves as leaders, but you want to encourage them to think about Christian leadership. Six 90-minute sessions in two parts.
Course 2 Developing Your Leadership is to enhance the leadership of those who are already leading a group in church life (for example home group leader, children’s group leader, youth group leader, worship band/choir leader, food bank leader, toddler group leader, Mothers’ Union leader). Six 90-minute sessions in two parts.
Course 3 Stepping up as a Christian Leader is for those who are ready to step into a new sphere of responsibility in their leadership, taking on oversight of other leaders or congregations (for example someone leading a new worshipping community, a Youth Pastor overseeing a team of people running youth groups, a Focal Minister leading a congregation). Total of 12 90-minute sessions in four parts (release date 2028).
Having piloted courses 1 and 2 earlier this year, we’re very excited about the impact.
Take Emily for example. She has recently emerged as a leader of a young adults group in her church. In her 20s, she didn’t really see leadership as her ‘thing’. Like many, she doesn’t like being upfront. Yet those around her spotted potential. Through the course her confidence grew, her character deepened, her courage to lead developed. ‘To anyone thinking of joining a course I’d say “Do it”. It’s made me look very differently at how I am as a leader.’
Next Steps
Let’s embrace the opportunities to develop leaders today, recognising that whilst things may have changed over the last couple of decades, we still need to follow Jesus and, for the sake of many, invest in a few.
If you want to be first to find out more about our new Developing Leaders Suite and the Growing as Leaders courses scan the QR code for a pre-filled email to send us, or email your details to leadership@cpas.org.uk. We’ll be in touch later in the year.