Enabling leadership is one the first thing that Christian Schwarz mentioned in Natural Church Development. And we know that good leadership brings many advantages to the church.
What are the benefits if the church has a good leadership? This is the question that we are going to answer today.
Fulfillment of visions – We are to understand that visions are given to the leadership of the church. Numbers 12:6 “When there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, reveal myself to them in visions, I speak to them in dreams.” The leadership then lays this to the church and together they work together for the fulfillment of such vision. Again, this is very important to any church because this gives us a sense of why we are here, what we are going to do, what direction to take.
If the leadership of the church is strong, there is a better chance for the church to achieve its visions. On the other hand, a church without leadership or if it has, it is a poor leadership, the church struggles and everything seems to be dragging.
READ: 8 Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches
Going back to the story of Moses, we can see that God gave Moses a vision, and as the Lord leads him, he leads Israel towards that vision. We have also seen that Moses delegated some of the tasks to some “trusted” people which made his job less stressful. This is how important the unity of the core leadership is.
Stronger church – When the leadership of the church is well enabled, the church also becomes stronger. The Bible speaks of strong leaders, and whenever there is a strong leadership, there is a stronger group. Proverbs 29:2 “When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice, when the wicked rule, the people groan.”
When David ruled Israel, Israel became a powerful nation. Please note that David no matter what sin he had committed, we still see a repentant heart which considered him to be a “man after God’s own heart.” Likewise, when Solomon started to rule, by God’s wisdom and good governance, Israel became the most powerful nation in the known world during his time.
Likewise, churches with strong leadership accomplish much and help in its growth. Whenever the pastor is away, there are people who can take over the ministry, it doesn’t wait for the pastor to start a Bible study. Everybody works and helps build the church. Ephesians 4:11-13 “11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”
READ: 8 Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches
Successful goals – With strong leadership, we can accomplish much. Of course, Christian leadership is affected by many factors. One factor is the spirituality of leadership. This is why Paul himself is convinced that those who take leadership inside the church needs to be someone who have been in the faith for a while, not a recent convert, and someone who have been very supportive in the ministry.
These kinds of leaders have a better picture of how the ministry works and how it is being managed. They know the ins and out of implementing ministry projects, how to rally people for a common goal, how to teach people to make the project happen. And because of that, there is no doubt that projects will be achieved.
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Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches
By Christian A. Schwarz / Churchsmart Resources
When Natural Church Development was first published in 1996, it not only opened a new chapter in the international discussion on church growth, but it also initiated a vibrant movement of striving for church health that now encompasses more than 65,000 churches in 70 countries. With this new edition, Christian A. Schwarz presents and updated and revised version of what has become a classic on church health.
