Develop servant leaders

If we are going to have more spiritual great grandchildren and more spiritual owners it is going to require us to focus on developing those kinds of people. We long to develop more servant leaders. We think servant leadership matters here. If this is your first time, you might be confused at this so let me explain. We believe God is working in everyone’s heart here to draw us closer to Him. God is working in our heart right now and has a wonderful plan for you. You might not know it, but I just told you. I used to be a drug dealer and now I’m a hope dealer. Listen to what Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus:

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
Ephesians 4:11-12 (NIV)

When Paul arrived in Ephesus it was a godless city. Through Paul’s leadership, Jesus began changing lives. People stopped worshipping idols and started dedicating their hearts to Jesus. Paul then invested his life in these new believers. Their life change was evident to those around them and others wanted to know God. The outcome was much better than if Paul simply did all the work.

I love Paul’s mindset of training up more leaders. Through his efforts lives were changed and families changed. Through Paul’s focus on building people up, entire communities were changed by the love of Christ.

I can still remember hearing this verse for the first time. I was sitting in the second row of my Bible College class. The professor shared passionately about the need for pastors to replicate themselves into others. He turned to Ephesians 4 and read these verses to us.

My goal at Coastline is to train more servant leaders who become spiritual investors. My aim is to invest my life in others, just like Paul, to see a legacy of believers. This can be your goal too! Now you might be thinking something like, “Wait a minute. Don’t we pay you to do everything around here.” Not according to what the Bible says. The Bible tells me that my job description is to invest in others and create opportunities for others to serve. The Bible instructs me to invest my life into others so that many more people can know Jesus!

Let me publicly praise about how this is already happening at Coastline and happened before my arrival. On Palm Sunday we had a wonderful service. For that service, Becky, our choir director, had many people on her team lead us in worship. It was a great example of spiritual legacy. Becky has been investing herself in the lives of so many people in this church for over a decade. On Palm Sunday our church was blessed with the fruit of that as we were lead in worship through music by a multitude of voices. It was also an example of our core value to be multi-generational because we had people of all life stages leading us!

Some people think you have to be a certain age or stage of life to to serve God. God is looking for people of all ages. When I served as a student ministry pastor we had a young lady named Kalina in our high school ministry. Kalina was extremely talented and she saw my areas of improvement. Kalina volunteered to help me lead our student leadership team. She took the administration and organization side so I could focus on leadership development. That was the healthiest year we ever had of student leadership. To help build Kalina up, every time I see her I tell this truth. Kalina needs to hear as much as possible what an impact she had on God’s Kingdom.

We have so many people in this church serving Jesus. You might not feel qualified to serve here. Someone once said, “God doesn’t call the qualified but qualifies the called.” If you don’t feel qualified you are in the right spot to start serving! Joseph was a prisoner when God called him to lead Egypt. David was a shepherd when God called him to lead Israel. Peter was a fisherman when Jesus called him to follow Him. Paul was a murdered when Jesus called him to reach those who are far from God. God is all about building people up and so are we!

I have an invitation for you, ask God how He would use your life to develop servant leaders. How might God change your life in such a way to invest in others. Where is God inviting you on a journey to help more people follow Jesus. How are you uniquely wired to invest in others to be servant leaders? Listen to what Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “For our own success to be real, it must contribute to the success of others.”

You will find the most fulfillment in life by building others up! Follow God’s word and make sure your investment is reaping and eternal investment. Stop trying to haphazardly invest in people.

Don't sporadically build people up at your convince. Be committed to purposefully invest in others.