Look Before You Leap: Training and Developing Future Leaders

This paper is our response to common questions from pastoral leaders and future leaders about effective training and development. It begins by identifying five common training strategies adopted by churches. It outlines a research-informed process to select the most appropriate training strategy and program. It then organises this material into an integrated framework for effective training and development. The appendices provide further explanations and examples from our context of Reformed and Presbyterian pastoral ministry in Sydney, Australia. Rather than follow the conventional advice most commonly given in our wider Evangelical culture of ‘take the next step’ or ‘enrol in the best college’, we recommend strongly that future leaders and pastoral leaders ‘look before you leap’. Analysing stakeholder interests, especially those of the future leader, is the first and most important category impacting on leader development. After this, the merits of various training strategies and programs can be evaluated according to their impact on leader development and difficulty of implementation. Once an appropriate training strategy and program are selected, future leaders can engage in the training and development cycle described in our paper.