When it comes to building new church leaders, doing it well is a lot like discipleship, Mike Jackson says.
The process is personal.
And it takes time, he said — it’s done best in relationships, and it’s done best when you don’t take shortcuts.
“I think mentoring is one of the most effective ways to discover good leaders,” said Jackson, director of the office of leadership and church health for the
Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.
One-on-one conversation
It starts with a one-on-one conversation, and that conversation continues, he said.
“Pouring into the lives of others helps develop the needed skills and allows a mentor to observe the potential in a person for leadership,” Jackson said.
He knows this from personal experience — he’s been on both sides of the equation.
“Almost 20 years ago, I began the process of asking someone to mentor me,” he said. “I also began to look for a couple of people whom I could mentor by investing in them personally. To this day I still connect with my mentor to help me with ongoing feedback and encouragement.”
And he still keeps up with some of the people he’s mentored.
“I am a firm believer in mentoring others,” he said. “Give them the chance to step into leadership roles, then evaluate their progress together.”
Tressa McQueen, children’s ministry director at Cottage Hill Baptist Church, Mobile, said that’s exactly what they try to do when they look for new leaders.
“We routinely let our membership know when we have a need for volunteers,” she said. “When someone expresses an interest in a given area, we will usually pair them with a seasoned leader — someone who has been with us for a while and knows all the ins and outs of the job. Hands-on learning is often the best.”
Jackson agreed.
“We do a great disservice to people when we enlist them on the fly and say
it will not take much to do the job,” he said.
“We should be straightforward with what’s expected if they serve.”
Mentors should talk about the job description, the available resources, training opportunities and expectations — and then model them for new leaders, Jackson said.
Effective questions
“Like a coach, a mentor seeks to bring out the best in a person,” he said. “The ‘coach’s’ job is to move the person from one place to another by using effective questions to help the ‘coachee’ arrive at the anticipated destination/goal.”
And that’s what mentoring is all about, he said — getting God’s work done together.
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Events Available for your church this year, led by the SBOM office of leadership and church health:
1. Being the Leader God Wants
2. A Bible-Based Deacon Ministry
3. Deacons and Wives Conference
4. Deacon-Led Ministry Teams
5. Deacon Ministry Today
6. Models for Deacon Ministry
7. How to Deal with Difficult People
8. Building Healthy Church Relationships
9. Church Renewal Journey
10. Deacons Helping the Church Manage Conflict
11. Spiritual Leadership
12. Questions Frequently Asked About Deacon Ministry
13. Church Prayer Ministry
14. How to Build Effective Pastor/Deacon Relationships
15. The Top Ten Leadership Challenges for Busy Pastors
16. Change Your Church, but Don’t Break It
For more information about scheduling an event at your church or association, contact the SBOM office of leadership and church health at 1-800-264-1225, ext. 210 or ext. 218, or visit ww.alsbom.org/leadership.
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