Fellowship Bible Church has a Sunday evening ministry it calls Greenhouse. This ministry was created by our Pastor of Worship and Arts, Tim Beard. Greenhouse places special emphasis on developing leaders and ministry to “Go and Grow.”
This ministry provides the perfect incubator for the next generation of Christian leaders to improve their platform skills, work on their craft, develop their gifts, make mistakes and allow God to grow their ministry before launching them to their next assignment, hopefully a much larger platform or church plant.
Tim affectionately refers to the incredibly talented worship band and vocalists as “The Minions.” These college-age artists have embraced this term, as has our entire church. Tonight, The Minions recorded their first live worship cd.
As I experienced the worship set and spoke with Tim afterwards, I gleaned 10 Lessons on Investing in the Next Generation of Christian Leaders. I am glad to share them with you.
1. The most important thing in investing in the next generation of Christian leaders is to point them to God. Tim opened the evening by telling all in attendance that this was not about a cd, but rather to place our focus on God.
2. Investing in the next generation of Christian leaders takes intentionality. Next generation ministry must be a primary focus. Tim has dedicated the majority of his last year of ministry to developing Greenhouse and The Minions.
3. To invest in the next generation of Christian leaders, you must be in it for the long haul. Young Christian leaders are developed in crock pots, not microwaves. They also have a deep desire for authentic, long-lasting relationships.
