Leadership Development

“Wherever there are churches, whether newly planted or long rooted, there is need for godly, effective leaders. Helping to provide and multiply them through training and mentoring has been, and undoubtedly will always be, a major focus of mission work.”1 The training of leaders is an essential part of the missionary task. How it is best done depends upon several factors such as language, culture, and preferred learning styles. Eachmissionary context needs leadership training approaches deemed appropriate within each reality. Missiologist Arthur Glasser wisely observed: “No one methodology for follow-up ministry or leadership training is normative for all situations. Methods must change because situations change and because spiritual growth itself makes new demands.”2 Historically, leadership training takes three basic configurations: