Article: Appreciating Leaders

Bill Eastman of Life Together has an article on Christianity Today about ministering to small group leaders.

I am not a big fan of acronym-based teaching, but I did get excited about a couple of points. Reminding leaders of their value is incredibly important. I want my leaders to know that what they do matters at NCC. We are who we are as a church because of who our leaders are.

Every Friday, we post a "Friday Scorecard" on our Zone Gathering site where small group leaders can celebrate the wins in their groups and give God credit for the stuff he is doing in their groups. We want people to see the value in that weekly meeting and in the life investments they are making.

Thanking them for serving is also important. In a couple of weeks, we are hosting a dinner for all of our ministry volunteers. We are giving "NCC Ministry: Old School" t-shirts out to those who have been volunteering for over 2 years.

Every year, we take all of our leaders- small group and ministry- on an Annual Leadership Retreat. We pay the whole bill because we want our leaders to be there and we want to bless them. It's a fun time and a fruitful time. We throw out moonpies. We play games. We recognize folks for their service. We equip them. And we pray for them.

You just can't tell leaders enough how thankful you are for them.