Developing Leaders

Leaders are God’s gift to his church (Eph 4:8–12), shepherds to care for his saints (1 Peter 5:1–5, Acts 20:28, Heb 13:17). Leaders are vital to the growth and nourishment of the church (Eph 4:12–13), as they build up and protect God’s flock (Titus 1:9). Similar to the reality that many Christians have not been discipled, many Christians have been given leadership roles without being biblically qualified (1 Tim 3:1–7), which means many Christians have been left without biblical leaders to guide them. One of the greatest needs in unreached locations is that new indigenous leaders are raised up and multiplied to serve, protect, and sustain local churches. Urgent supports ministries that are committed to raising up and deploying new indigenous leaders to serve the church in unreached and underserved areas.

Theological Training

The greatest need globally is for qualified leaders to protect the church from error inside and outside and to nourish the it from God’s Word. Theologically-trained leaders are needed to help the church proclaim and defend the truth in its own context. These leaders can also raise up the next generation of leaders in the church (2 Tim 2:2). Seeing biblically qualified and competent leaders as a linchpin to the long term vitality and self-sustainability of the local church, Urgent prioritizes projects that will develop such indigenous church leaders.

Mobilizing Qualified Leaders

Annual reports from ministries often record the number of individuals trained, discipled, etc. This is important because the Bible requires certain qualifications for leaders. However, there is often a disconnect between these training ministries and the place of ministry. For example, seminars, conferences, and apprenticeships provide training but may not be connected with local church networks and are thus unable to recommend or refer the individuals they have trained for pastoral or other ministry positions. Urgent’s focus of supporting the local church ensures the leaders being trained are both recommended by the churches for training and mobilized by the church after training into viable ministry positions.