INTRODUCING OUR FEATURED SCN SPONSOR: MINISTRY CHICK NETWORK
One of the greatest opportunities of the Significant Church Network is connecting pastors and church leaders with trusted organizations that can serve as valuable resources to them and their ministries. Each month, we’d like to introduce you to one of our valued SCN partners whose mission aligns with serving and strengthening the local church.
This month, we’re excited to introduce the Ministry Chick Network, founded by Melissa Mashburn. Melissa has spent more than 25 years serving in ministry and has a passion for encouraging, equipping, and developing women in leadership. Through coaching, leadership development, practical resources, and a vibrant community, the Ministry Chick Network exists to help women thrive both personally and in the calling God has placed on their lives.
Whether you’re a pastor’s wife, ministry leader, volunteer, or someone simply seeking to grow in your leadership and influence, the Ministry Chick Network offers biblical encouragement and practical tools to help you lead with confidence and purpose.
In the following article, Melissa shares an important perspective on one of the greatest opportunities facing today’s churches: intentionally developing the next generation of leaders. We believe her insights will encourage you to recognize the potential God has already placed within the people He has entrusted to your care.
Why many churches have a leadership development gap, not a leadership shortage.
Not long ago, I was talking with another church leader about the challenge of finding people to lead.
At some point in the conversation, they said what I’ve heard countless times over the past twenty-five years of ministry,
“We just need more leaders.“
I’ve heard that in churches of fewer than one hundred people, and I’ve heard it in churches welcoming tens of thousands every weekend.
More volunteers.
More small group leaders.
More ministry directors.
More people willing to step up.
And sometimes that’s exactly what’s needed.
But as I’ve reflected on those conversations over the years, I’ve found myself asking a different question.
What if the bigger challenge isn’t finding more leaders?
What if it’s how we’re developing the people God has already entrusted to us?
Over the years, that’s become one of the most important questions I ask when I’m talking with church leaders.
FAITHFULNESS IS THE BEGINNING, NOT THE FINISH LINE
Churches are filled with faithful people.
They’re the volunteers who never miss a Sunday. The staff members who quietly make everything happen behind the scenes. The ministry leaders who consistently show up, care deeply about people, and are willing to serve wherever they’re needed.
When a leadership opportunity opens, it makes sense that we’d look to those people first.
Faithfulness matters. Character matters. A servant’s heart matters. All of it is incredibly important.
But over the years, I’ve learned that faithfulness and leadership aren’t exactly the same thing.
Leading people asks something different of us than simply serving people. It requires us to navigate difficult conversations, communicate vision, build healthy teams, delegate responsibility, coach volunteers, and make wise decisions. Those are skills that are developed over time.
They don’t automatically come with a new title.
SOMEONE CHOSE TO INVEST IN ME
Looking back over my own ministry, I can think of several seasons where I was given more responsibility before I fully knew how to carry it. I don’t say that critically. It’s simply how many churches work. A need arises, someone faithfully says yes, and before long, they’re leading.
That was certainly true for me. Someone tapped me on the shoulder one Sunday and asked me to lead.
What made the difference wasn’t that I somehow figured it out on my own, because I didn’t; it was sink or swim in some of those seasons. What really helped me the most was having leaders who chose to invest in me.
They invested their time in conversations and mentoring.
They invested their wisdom by asking thoughtful questions and offering honest feedback.
They invested in me by inviting me into rooms and conversations to learn and grow.
They also invested financially in my leadership, creating opportunities for me to learn from coaches and leadership experts, attend conferences, and participate in training experiences that stretched my thinking and accelerated my growth as a leader.
Looking back now, I realize those investments did far more than help me succeed in the role I was in at the time. They helped to shape how I think, how I lead, how I develop others, and how I steward the opportunities God has given me. I know that each of those investments were deposits in me that not everyone has experienced.
Perhaps the greatest gift they gave me wasn’t another leadership skill. It was the confidence that came from knowing someone saw my potential and believed I was worth investing in.
That’s one of the reasons I care so deeply about leadership development today. I’ve experienced firsthand what can happen when leaders intentionally invest in people, not just by giving them responsibility, but by helping them develop and grow into it. We don’t need to sink or swim any longer.
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT IS AN INVESTMENT
One of the things I’ve come to appreciate is that leadership development rarely happens by accident.
It happens because someone intentionally decides that people are worth investing in. We know it in our heads, but we also need to know it in our hearts. It doesn’t have to be complicated.
Sometimes that investment is a conversation over coffee.
Sometimes it’s inviting an emerging leader into meetings so they can learn how decisions are made.
Sometimes it takes time after a difficult situation to coach rather than simply correct.
And sometimes it’s making the financial investment to send someone to a conference, provide ministry coaching, enroll them in a leadership cohort, or connect them with voices outside of your organization that will stretch their thinking and expand their perspective.
I’ve often thought about how willingly churches invest in buildings, technology, curriculum, and ministry resources because we know those investments strengthen the ministry.
I believe leadership development deserves that same level of intentionality.
After all, it’s the leaders who will steward every other investment we make.
A QUESTION WORTH ASKING
As I think about the churches I’ve served and the leaders I’ve coached, I keep coming back to one simple question:
Who are we intentionally developing today?
Not just who is leading.
Not just who is faithful.
Who are we helping become the leaders our churches will need tomorrow?
Because chances are, those future leaders are already serving somewhere in your church.
They’re greeting at the front door.
Leading a small group.
Serving in children’s ministry.
Running production.
Coordinating volunteers.
Showing up early, staying late, and faithfully serving because they believe in the mission.
The opportunity isn’t simply to give them more responsibility.
It’s to intentionally help them grow into it.
A FINAL THOUGHT
When I look back over my own journey, I’m incredibly grateful for the leaders who invested in me. They didn’t simply prepare me for the next role. They helped shape the leader I was becoming. They may not have realized how much they impacted my life, but I can honestly say I would not be the leader I am today without their investment in my development.
That experience has changed the way I think about leadership in the local church.
It makes me wonder how many future leaders are already sitting in our congregations today. They’re faithfully serving, eager to grow, and simply waiting for someone to notice their potential and invest in it.
One of the greatest stewardship opportunities we have as church leaders isn’t simply filling leadership positions.
It’s recognizing the people God has already entrusted to our care and intentionally helping them become the leaders He’s calling them to be.
~ Melissa Mashburn,
CEO of The Ministry Chick Network
www.MinistryChick.com
