A Christian Leader's Guide to Discipleship, Mentoring, and Ministry Leadership
- Eljoh Hartzer, MTh
- Jun 28
- 4 min read
My step-by-step guide for ministry leaders who want to build people, not just programs
Many ministry leaders are never actually trained for leadership—they are simply placed into it. As someone who grew up in the church, has worked in ministry, and been in various roles through the years - there are some things I've picked up along the way. God equipped me to lead others well, learn about this at Uni, and then He made me a writer so that I can share it with you.
This Christian Leaders guide serves as a hub of articles written on Christian leadership topics - from Biblical expressions of leadership to the practicalities of leading a group of young adults. While there are countless leadership books out there, ministry leadership is different from business leadership - with unique challenges and opportunities.
May you find space here to pause, reflect, and abide.
A Christian Leader's Guide:
In this article, we'll have a brief look at 5 essential areas of Christian ministry leadership. Each heading is followed by a summary of why this matters, the main important points, and what you might need to grow in to become the leader God made you to be. You can use the links below to navigate to the heading you're interested in & from there, you can go more in depth by clicking through to the full article on each topic.
Vine Creative Studio holds a collection of what I like to call 'encounter tools', resources connecting hearts with Jesus. You're welcome to try one out with my free Workbook on Living as a Wholehearted Follower or Coloring page on the Fishes & Loaves Miracle.
This page brings together a growing collection of articles on Christian leadership and discipleship designed to help church leaders move from program management to intentional disciple-making.
The five topics below are written for leaders who wish to move beyond numbers and metrics, and rather focus on true discipleship of the people they're walking with. The approach taken in each article is the perspective that the Bible has ultimate authority and the Spirit guides your every step. Without further ado, let's get into it:
Build on Biblical Leadership, not the World's Way
The first thing you need to understand as a Christian leader is that leading God's way is not the same as that of the world. This article takes a deep-dive into what Biblical leadership looks like, filled with examples from Scripture and real-world application based on experience and wisdom from leadership professionals.
Cultivate Meaningful Community in your Bible Study Groups
Where your people gather to grow in faith matters - those spaces are holy ground. There are some specific nitty-gritty changes that you can make to facilitate groups where people can truly encounter God. Group theory and praxis is applied in this article to share the five most important points to keep in mind.
Understand Emerging Generations as a Modern Leader in Faith
I did my thesis on emerging adults (another term for young adulthood) - This article takes the modern Christian leader into exactly how to work with this confusing and challenging generation. It gives a brief overview of young adults today and what's needed to help their faith formation journey.
Disciple the Next Generation in your Church
Discipleship is the very core of what you do. It's what Christian leadership is all about as you follow Christ and bring others along. The following article gives a glimpse into younger generations, the challenges to their faith like Moralistic Therapeutic Deism and the turn to secularism in most spheres of their world.
Develop People through Mentorship - the Goal of Christian Leadership
This article prompts Christian leaders to view themselves as disciple-makers in the lives of the people they lead. It takes Bible Camp as the training ground where faith is developed. By effectively mentoring your group in their faith and ensuring that community is being built amongst them, you can make the most of your time together.
In conclusion,
I want to take a moment and invite you to take a step back with me. Where you are right now, take a deep breath in and hold it for three seconds. As you breathe out, relax your shoulders and close your eyes for a moment. God is there with you - the One who called you into this role and who empowers your every move by His Spirit. Remember Him as you lead and you'll never go astray. God bless you & the work of your hands for His Kingdom!
P.S. If you enjoyed this article and would like to stay in touch, I want to invite you to join my newsletter by leaving your email below. Vine Creative Studio houses a growing collection of discipleship resources, ministry tools, and practical articles designed to help leaders cultivate faith in others.
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