I don’t pretend to be an expert, but the Lord has given me enough years in ministry — with staff members, volunteer leaders, Sunday school teachers, small group leaders, and faithful church members — to know that cultivating initiative is one of the most important things you can ever do in a church. Whether you pastor a large congregation or a church plant, whether you have a paid staff or you’re working entirely with volunteers, this truth holds steady: the strength of your ministry rises or falls on the strength of the leaders you reproduce.
Most of us have had moments where we walk into a Sunday morning situation and wonder, “Am I the only one who sees this?” You spot a mess in the lobby, a new family standing awkwardly alone, a classroom unprepared, a problem no one addressed — even though many people must have walked past it. It almost feels like everyone is waiting on someone else to act.
It’s frustrating… until you realize something God had to teach me:
A lack of initiative in your people is often more a reflection of your leadership than their laziness.
That’s hard to swallow, but Scripture affirms it. Paul told Timothy:
“And the things that thou hast heard of me… commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”
— 2 Timothy 2:2
The biblical word is commit. To entrust. To place something in someone else’s hands intentionally.
That’s what cultivating initiative is — a Spirit-led commitment to invest in people until they can invest in others.
Let me walk through what that has looked like for me.
1. Leaders Who Launch Develop the Right Culture
No church ever produces leaders by accident. Leadership reproduction doesn’t “just happen.” If you want a church where people take initiative — where they see needs and meet them — the environment must make that kind of behavior normal and expected.
The foundation of that culture rests on two values that must be present together or initiative will never grow:
Clarity and Trust
I had to learn that when people hesitate, drag their feet, or wait for instructions, it’s often because I wasn't clear enough.People cannot act confidently if they don’t know exactly what they’re doing or why it matters.
Clarity gives direction; trust gives permission.
Before I could expect initiative, I needed to create a culture where people weren’t guessing or afraid of messing up. So here’s how this plays out:
- Clarity:
When people know the mission, the priority, and the immediate task, they move with purpose.
This includes:- defining what we are trying to accomplish
- explaining why it matters spiritually
- removing ambiguity
- making success measurable
- Trust:
If clarity gives people the “what” and “why,” trust hands them the “how.”
Trust sounds like:- “You’ve got this.”
- “I trust your judgment.”
- “Make the call you feel is best.”
When clarity and trust work together, people feel safe to take initiative without fearing your reaction.
If trust is lacking, people freeze. If clarity is lacking, they flounder.
But where both exist, initiative naturally begins to blossom.
2. Leaders Who Launch Distinguish the Right People
Leadership does not start by forcing people into roles; it starts by prayerfully recognizing where God is already working.
Scripture teaches that spiritual leaders are a gift from God to the church:
“He gave… pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry…”
— Ephesians 4:11–12
This means the raw material for future leadership is already in your church. Your job is discernment — noticing whom God is shaping and preparing.
A church will only grow as wide as its leadership grows deep. When attendance increases but the leadership base does not, the church becomes unstable — everything falls back on the pastor. I’ve had to say to myself many times:
“Bruce, you can have control or you can have growth — but you cannot have both.”
So how do we distinguish the right people? This is what I’ve learned to look for:
Key Traits of People God May Be Preparing for Leadership
- Faithfulness — They show up without being chased down.
- Availability — They have room in their lives to serve and a willingness to be used.
- Servanthood — They already help before they hold a title.
- Teachability — They don’t think they know everything; they’re moldable.
- Initiative — They see a need and act—sometimes quietly, but consistently.
One of the most helpful practices for me has simply been praying through our church directory when a ministry need arises. Over and over, God puts someone on my heart whom I might have overlooked if I had relied on my own judgment.
Leadership is not about discovering superstars.
It’s about discerning where God’s Spirit is already at work.
3. Leaders Who Launch Define a Biblical Process
It’s not enough to recognize potential leaders; you must have a process to develop them. Hope is not a leadership strategy. Paul gave Timothy more than a command — he gave him a reproducible plan.
A biblical leadership pipeline isn’t complicated. In our church, it follows six simple steps:
Our Six-Step Leadership Reproduction Process
Before listing the steps, let me explain the heart behind the process:
People don’t grow into leadership randomly; they grow intentionally.
They need guidance… but also space.
They need training… but also trust.
They need clarity… but also personal ownership.
This process gives structure without suffocation — enough direction to guide, and enough freedom to grow.
Now here are the steps:
- Distinguish
- Identify whom God is already equipping.
- Look for character first, not talent.
- Draft (Recruit)
- Invite them to join you.
- Recruitment is biblical — Jesus recruited disciples, Paul recruited Timothy.
- Don’t guilt people; cast vision.
- Define
- Give them clear expectations and tools.
- Role descriptions help immensely.
- Clarity prevents discouragement.
- Develop
- Training is not a classroom — it’s side-by-side discipleship.
- The training model:
- I do it
- I do it, you watch
- We do it together
- You do it, I coach
- You do it, and you train others
- Deploy (Empower)
- Give them responsibility and authority.
- Deploy too soon = overwhelmed.
- Deploy too late = discouraged.
- Direct (Support and Oversee)
- Empowerment is not abandonment.
- Continue mentoring, checking in, adjusting, and encouraging.
- Praise publicly; guide privately.
This biblical process isn’t just something you follow — it becomes something your leaders follow with others. That’s when multiplication begins.
4. Leaders Who Launch Defend Against Initiative Killers
Growing initiative isn’t just about what you build — it’s also about what you guard against. There are certain patterns that can quietly suffocate initiative, sometimes without us realizing it.
Before listing them, here’s the principle:
You cannot expect initiative from people you frustrate.
If the environment is spiritually or relationally unhealthy, initiative will die — even in the best people.
Here are the three killers I’ve had to fight most often:
Major Initiative Killers
- Disconnection — A lack of relationship
People will not take courageous steps for a leader they don’t know or trust.
Your presence with them fuels their confidence.
When they know your heart, they begin to carry it. - Misalignment — A lack of clarity
When expectations are fuzzy, frustration grows on both sides.
People want to do the right thing — they just need you to define it.
Over-communication prevents misalignment. - Micromanagement — A lack of trust
When everything is critiqued or redone, people stop trying.
They won’t risk creativity or initiative if they anticipate resistance.
Trust must grow as their competence grows.
These killers don’t just slow leadership development — they poison it.
I’ve had to repent more than once for micromanaging out of fear rather than trusting out of faith.
5. What a Team of Initiators Looks Like
When a church builds the right culture, identifies the right people, follows a biblical process, and guards against initiative killers, something begins to change in the atmosphere of the church. Ministry stops being a burden carried by a few and becomes a mission shared by many. The spirit shifts from “That’s not my job” to “How can I help?” People stop waiting for direction and start carrying responsibility. You begin to hear new voices, see new leaders rise, and feel new energy in the work.
This is not accidental.
It is the God-ordained fruit of cultivating spiritual initiative.
Let me show you what that fruit looks like:
The Four Marks of a Leadership-Producing Church
- The people are edified — they mature spiritually.
You begin seeing believers who aren’t just attending church — they’re growing in doctrine, humility, integrity, and love. They’re rooted, grounded, and spiritually stable. This maturity becomes the soil from which leadership grows. - The people are equipped — they know how to do ministry, not just watch ministry.
They learn how to disciple, how to encourage, how to organize, how to teach, how to care for others. Serving becomes something they understand, not something they fear. - The people are engaged — they carry meaningful responsibility.
They aren’t waiting for the pastor to do everything. They’re stepping into real roles, leading ministries, discipling others, solving problems, and helping the church move forward. - The people are enjoying the ministry — they find joy and purpose in being used by God.
Ministry becomes energizing instead of exhausting. They feel part of a mission. They see the eternal value of what they’re doing. They experience what the New Testament describes as being “addicted to the ministry.”
A Final Question
As I’ve reflected on these principles, the Lord keeps pressing one question into my own heart:
Is this the kind of ministry culture I’m cultivating right now?
If not, that doesn’t mean failure.
It means invitation.
An invitation to re-evaluate your culture.
To pray over your people.
To define your process.
To fight the leadership-killers in your own heart.
To recommit yourself to launching leaders instead of merely managing workers.
That is my prayer for myself.
That is my prayer for you.
“Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”
— Philippians 4:9
