Great groups have great leaders. These leaders are mature in their walk with Christ and skilled in leading others to follow Him. That leads us to ask, "Where do great leaders come from?"

At Brook Hills, we're developing great leaders. We want people to experience biblical community and grow in Christ. To accomplish that, we must be faithful to Jesus' call to make disciples. As we make disciples, we must expand our reach, creating new and healthy groups.

So, where are the next leaders? We propose that great future leaders are already in our groups. With that in mind, we want to equip our current leaders with a ministry expansion mindset that involves identifying and equipping new leaders who will start new groups to reach more people for God's glory.

GROUP: A few steps you can take with your group to develop new leaders.

1. Commit yourself to ministry growth that is larger in scope than your Small Group.
2. Give attention to every group member's next steps in church involvement: membership, discipleship, serving in the church, etc.
3. Create opportunities and roles within your group that allow people to gain leadership experience.
4. Identify and disciple potential leaders within your group. Share your vision with them.
5. Share the teaching/leading role within your group. Help people in preparation and debrief them following their leadership.
6. Involve people in leadership access, such as participation in Small Group Leader Gatherings, attending Small Group Basics, subscribing to the SG Leader News, etc.
7. Always be working toward starting new groups by implementing all these suggestions and whatever else it takes to create new groups.

INDIVIDUAL: A few things to do with identified potential leaders:

1. Read a book on discipleship or group leadership together.
2. Ask them to lead the group meeting once a month or once a quarter.
3. Spend time with them in a disciple-making relationship.
4. Let them see behind-the-curtain group leadership as you spend time together.
5. Challenge them to continue to take steps toward leading a group.

These steps often require a change in our mindset and a change in our group culture. But once we turn the corner, it is a joy to see God at work in and through the lives of others we have mentored.