Planting a church is a pretty challenging thing, and one of the biggest challenges is finding the right person to be the primary leader.

Leaders come in all shapes and sizes, can have a strong gift such as evangelism, or may have a broader mix of gifts and abilities. Some work a regular job to support themselves (the Apostle Paul was a tentmaker, for example), and others still may be employed.

Antioch aims to identify emerging leaders within our network, and this is essential because our model for making disciples requires (a) new leaders and (b) more and more people in our church plants taking responsibility as disciples of Jesus. This raises a big question...

What is a leader?

"In early 2017 when we first laid out the plans for the REAP course, we wrote this: 

Church planting requires only two things: the favour of God and those willing to respond to his call to plant. Therefore, we pray for God’s favour, and develop those who God is calling. The shape of any given plant will depend largely on the call placed by God on the church planters. Rather than define the shape of any given plant, our first task is to help potential planters grow. 

REAP was, and is, all about leader-led church planting. Time has not made us soften this idea. Whenever we have tried workarounds, or planted without a clear vision laid out by a leader, the results have been painful for everyone. The leaders of the church plants are the key factor, under God, which causes new churches to thrive or wither. Why is this?..."

Click the PDF link below for the full piece: 

Step 1 Identify Leaders Oct2024.pdf 

Or you can watch a this video from October 2023 on Identifying Leaders:

Once a leader has been identified, the next obvious step is training. Click here for the next step in the Loop.