One of the greatest responsibilities we have as leaders is preparing people to lead without us.
That doesn’t apply only to a senior pastor preparing a successor. It applies to every area of ministry. Whether you are leading a church, a small group, an outreach ministry, a department, or a Sunday school class, eventually you have to take something you are carrying, put it into someone else’s hands, and trust them to carry it forward.
When I transitioned the leadership of our church to my son, people could have looked at that moment and thought it was simply a father handing the church to his son. But that transition was not just about a family relationship. My son had served on staff for 15 years, and for the final five years we were very intentional about progressively giving him greater responsibility.
I wanted him to grow into leadership, not simply inherit a position.
Give People Room to Lead
One of the most important things a leader can do is give responsibility away before it becomes necessary.
As we moved closer to transition, I deliberately allowed my son and our leadership team to make significant decisions. For the final five years, I did not hire anyone. I might listen to the conversation, offer input, or raise a question they had not considered, but they conducted the interviews and made the decisions.
Then, when the time came for transition, I could stand before our congregation and point to what had already been happening. The team they trusted, the decisions they appreciated, and much of the ministry they were experiencing had already been led by my son and the leaders around him.
The title eventually changed, but leadership had been developing long before the title was given.
That is an important distinction. If someone never has the opportunity to make decisions until you’re gone, you’re not really preparing that person to lead. You are simply hoping they will figure it out after you leave.
Let Them Make Some Mistakes
Leadership development requires opportunity, and opportunity always carries some risk.
I told our leaders, “Be creative. If you make a mistake, it’s okay because I’m still here, and I can fix whatever you mess up.”
That wasn’t permission to be careless. It was permission to learn.
Sometimes leaders hold responsibility too tightly because they know they can do the job faster or better themselves. But if everything has to be done exactly the way we would do it, no one around us ever develops the confidence and judgment necessary to lead.
Eventually, healthy developing leaders begin seeing needs you did not point out. They take initiative without waiting to be asked. That is when leadership becomes recognizable.
Draw Out Before You Pour In
I also learned that developing leaders is not simply about telling them everything you know.
During our executive team meetings, I would ask my son questions: “What would you do in these circumstances? What would you change about the service? How do you think this decision will affect us going forward?”
Then I listened.
As leaders, we can become so focused on pouring our knowledge into people that we forget to draw out what God has already placed within them. I wanted him to think, pray, listen to his heart, and learn to hear the Holy Spirit for himself.
I didn’t want to create a miniature version of me.
My son and I are very different, and that’s a good thing. The Holy Spirit flows through his personality and gifting differently than He flows through mine. My responsibility was not to erase those differences. It was to help him mature enough to lead confidently through them.
Give Away the Baton Before the Final Handoff
We also gave my son increasing opportunities to minister publicly. Early in the process, he might preach five weekends in a year. That number progressively increased until he was preaching nearly half of the available weekends before the transition.
Every opportunity allowed the congregation to know him, trust him, and experience God working through him.
I think of it like a relay race. Before permanently handing someone the baton, give them opportunities to carry it for a lap. Let your people see that you trust them. Then affirm them publicly, quote something they taught, celebrate their insight, and allow their credibility to grow.
Second Timothy 2:2 gives us a beautiful picture of this kind of leadership. Paul invested in Timothy, Timothy was to invest in faithful people, and those people would teach others. There are multiple generations of leadership in that one verse.
That is the question every leader eventually has to face: Does what God has entrusted to me stop with me, or am I developing people who can carry it farther than I ever could?
Don’t wait until you need a successor to start developing leaders. Give people meaningful responsibility now. Ask questions and listen to their answers. Give them room to make mistakes while you are still close enough to coach them. Celebrate their victories publicly and resist the temptation to make them lead exactly like you.
Your greatest leadership accomplishment may not be what you personally build. It may be the leaders you develop who stand on your shoulders, carry the mission farther, and then turn around and develop another generation to do the same.
