Article
Men’s Ministry and Leadership Development
If leadership development is so important, how can church plants do it well without robust infrastructure?
One of the priorities of every church, and especially every church plant, that wants to maintain long-term health should be developing leaders.
Church plants often launch with a lead pastor and a core team but without elders or mature leaders, so it is particularly pressing for planters to figure out how to raise up leaders. Leadership development is an entire industry, so a church planter could easily get lost in the theories, events, curricula, publications, best practices, webinars, and so forth. Certainly, structured programmatic steps can be beneficial in leadership development. But they are often beyond the means and capacities of smaller churches and church plants.
So this raises a somewhat pressing question: If leadership development is so important, how can church plants do it well without robust infrastructure?
The short answer is this: invest in the men. Invest in men’s ministry. It doesn’t have to be complex or event-heavy, just substantive and intentional. This may not seem like leadership development compared to complex systems or tiered and sequenced structures, but it absolutely is. Substantive men’s ministry invests in the character and qualifications of the men. It builds up the men in holistic ways, and leaders become identifiable through normal, rhythmic ministry.
The best metric for measuring leadership competency in the church is given in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1–the qualifications for elders. These competencies are all character-focused, not skill sets. (Even “able to teach” has more to do with a man’s absorption of and obedience to God’s word than his particular giftedness.) And what does a fruitful men’s ministry accomplish but building up the character of men in alignment with the gospel?
- It strengthens their faith. Men’s ministry should deepen a man’s understanding of the word and broaden his view of God, such that his faith is bolstered. If he has questions, they can be answered with care. If he has struggles or frailty, he can receive encouragement. If he is ignorant or immature, he can be taught and corrected.
- It increases biblical knowledge and enjoyment. A healthy men’s ministry is deeply Bible-centric. The Bible is taught. Men study the word together. When questions arise, the Bible is the point of reference for answers. And over time, men come alive to the riches of the word and the living, speaking power of it in their lives.
- It deepens men theologically. This is a natural result of being deeply biblical, but not an inherent one. But in a healthy men’s ministry, theological development is a point of emphasis and pursuit. As men are in the word big questions will arise–questions of sovereignty, justification, triunity, evil, and so forth. A robust men’s ministry takes them head-on, bringing helpful resources to bear (articles, books, sermons, commentaries, etc.) so that men learn to think deeply about God and navigate deep questions wisely.
- It grows men in honesty and humility. Obviously, it is the Holy Spirit that grows men in these areas, but an intentional men’s ministry emphasizes them and relies on the Spirit. It makes a point of inviting and welcoming confession. It honors those who are in a vulnerable place instead of crushing or overlooking them. It emphasizes service and bearing one another’s burdens.
The result of this kind of men’s ministry is both the development and the revealing of leaders. Over time, as men participate consistently, you can begin to see their trajectory, their transformation, and their current leadership capacities.
- Trajectory – Which men are pursuing Jesus? Which men are growing in maturity, in wisdom, in discipline? Which men can you see shepherding the flock of your church in a month, a year, or three years?
- Transformation – There are likely men in your church who you cannot imagine ever being effective leaders and shepherds. The possibility of them ever being an elder is slim to none, by your estimation. But as they participate in corporate worship and consistently show up to men’s ministry, you begin to see a change. They become distraught at their sins and begin to yearn for freedom from them and to walk in holiness. They become enamored with the Bible. Little by little, they begin to lay down their lives for Christ and submit to him. They grow in maturity, in humility, in reliability. They move from “not a chance” they’ll ever be a leader to “on the right track.”
- Current Leadership – In any men’s ministry, the leaders will make themselves known. I don’t mean the loud ones who want to be heard and respected–those are guys who have yet to realize they need some transformation. I mean the guys who serve, who you can count on, who speak wisely even if it is rarely. They are the men who take others under their wing to encourage or gently correct. They seek out the awkward guys, the new guys, the struggling guys. They quietly disadvantage themselves for the good of others. You feel different when these men are there–stabilized, encouraged, emboldened, strengthened just by their presence.
When I say men’s ministry is the best leadership development, this is what I mean. It is a litmus test, a training ground, a discipleship program, and an apprenticeship all at the same time. And you don’t even have to be clever or well-resourced to do it well, just faithful.
A substantive men’s ministry identifies leaders and raises them up. And it does so over generations. At every point in your church’s growth and lifespan, this remains true–young men are invested in, older men serve and lead, the called men stand out, and all the men are strengthened in Christ. With faithful men’s ministry, you will always have leaders for right now, for what’s next, and those whom the Lord is working on for future years.
