10 Strategies to Equip People for Service

Written by Wayne Poling

Churches throughout our nation are searching for the ingredients they need to reach people and help believers mature. Those key ingredients are right in front of you - the people of your church.

Spiritual Leadership

It is through people that God does the work of His kingdom. The challenge is to energize and equip the people of your church for service. Training expands the potential of your Sunday School as you discover and train new leaders and as the current leaders discover new leadership strengths.

One of the most important things you can do as an educational minister is to develop a strategy for equipping leaders for service. Here are 10 ideas to help you find your strategy for equipping your people for service.

1. Plan specific actions to determine training needs. Find out the training needs of your leaders and target your training to meet those needs.
2. As you think about your educational ministry and as you think about individual leaders ask, "What is the next step?" In answering that question you will discover the equipping you need to provide to help your leaders move to the next step.
3. Help leaders plan their own personal growth and training. Sit down individually with leaders and discuss their dreams and goals for their area of service. Discuss areas in which they desire to be growing in their own lives and their areas of service. Help them shape their own plans for personal growth and improvement.
4. Remember the best training is provided at the moment of need. While emphasizing training events do not forget the importance of giving individualized help throughout the year through personal conversations, magazines, articles, books, video tapes, observation of other leaders, and so forth.
5. Familiarize yourself with training resources. Know where to find help. Make resources easily accessible. Encourage leaders to make use of specific training resources by placing resources in the area in which a leader serves with a sign out sheet when they take the resource.
6. Read strategically. Consider areas in which you want to grow as a leader and read strategically in order to grow in your own service.
7. Use a variety of approaches. Leaders enjoy learning in a variety of ways. In order to appeal to the variety of learning styles among your leaders provide training in a variety of ways including individualized approaches (books, tapes, videos, and so forth) and a variety of group experiences.
8. Use mentoring and apprenticeship. Encourage your effective leaders to have a personal ministry of mentoring less experienced leaders. Help match your experienced leaders with less experienced leaders.
9. Develop models. Encourage a class or department in each age group to model ministry so others can see firsthand how effective ministry should be done. Offer whatever assistance is needed to help the class or department improve their work in order to be a "model."
10. Take advantage of training opportunities available through your local association, state convention, and the Southern Baptist Convention. A multitude of event opportunities are available in your association and state along with conferences held at LifeWay Glorieta Conference Center and LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center. Equip your leaders for service. It will be the best investment you ever made!

Wayne Poling is Sunday School/FAITH ministry specialist at LifeWay Christian Resources, Nashville, Tennessee.