LEAD THE WAY HANDBOOK

The Way MicroChurches

REPLICATE

Joining Jesus in Mission to Our Circles of Influence

With JESUS …
REPLICATE - So More and More Disciples Make Disciples and Leaders Train Leaders and MicroChurches Start MicroChurches

Joining Jesus in Mission to Our Circles of Influence

Luke 9:1-2, 10

One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases. Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

When the apostles returned, they told Jesus everything they had done.

Luke 9:28

About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray.

Luke 10:1, 17-21

The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit.

When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”

“Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”

At that same time Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and he said, “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way.”

1 Corinthians 11:1

Follow me as I follow Christ.

2 Timothy 2:1-2

You, then, my child, be empowered by the grace that is in Christ Jesus and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful people, who will be able to teach others also.

THE WHY

  • Jesus replicated Himself by focusing on the 12, the 3 and the 72.

  • This idea of focusing on a few to create a movement to the masses is baked into Jesus’ strategy for reaching the world.

  • The early church simply continued Jesus’ strategy. That’s why we see Paul replicating his own discipleship of following Jesus through Timothy and others.

THE WHAT

  • Replication is about passing on the essential genetic material (DNA) so that the movement keeps going and growing.

  • This DNA is made up of our relationship with Jesus, our life in community, our values and priorities, our character and compassion. It certainly includes ministry skills, but it’s more about the heart.

  • Leadership development always starts with discipleship. So before working through Lead the Way leadership journey, ensure potential leaders have walked through Follow The Way discipleship journey. Preferably, they have also discipled others by coaching them through Follow The Way.

THE WHO

  • Who are you training? Who are your 3?

  • When looking for potential leaders and people to apprentice, keep in mind God’s Word to Samuel when he was looking for a new king to replace King Saul.

1 Samuel 16:6-7

When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!”

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

  • Don’t rush the leadership discernment process nor the leadership development process. The replication of Kingdom DNA is too important to be hasty.

  • When looking for potential leaders, take adequate time to seek the Lord’s will before proceeding. Jesus did!

Luke 6:12-13

Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles.

  • When looking for potential leaders, ask yourself, Who’s already providing leadership and what is the nature and quality of that leadership?

Those seeking leadership within The Way will be …

  • Be maturing followers of Jesus

  • Sense God’s call on their lives to lead a MicroChurch

  • Depend on the empowerment of the grace that is in Christ Jesus and so growing in …

    • Gratitude - It is only by grace that we have been grafted into Jesus Christ, the True Vine, and so our lives should be characterized by ongoing gratitude.

    • Dependence - We are fully dependent on the Vine because apart from Jesus we can do nothing.

    • Expectation - As we depend on the Vine, we can be confident that we will bear much fruit to the Father’s glory.

    • Obedience - Our fruitfulness grows through the dynamic of God’s grace working through our obedience.

 
“Grace is both pardon AND power. Grace is God’s pardon—by God’s grace we are saved from our sin and set free from our bondage to Satan’s kingdom. But grace is also God’s power—by God’s grace we are empowered to live the Christlike life and to fulfill our God-given calling and ministry. God’s grace, then, doesn’t just start our Christian life, it continually sustains our Christian life. Once again, grace is both pardon for sin AND power for living. So be empowered by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”
 

  • Faithful

    • Do you follow through with your commitments? Are you someone who can be counted on? Are you passionate about the mission of The Way? Will you pursue servant leadership even when things are hard and messy?

  • Available

    • Time is a huge limiter to actually doing ministry. Do you have time to commit to leadership? There are many who have all the gifts, character and calling to be leaders, but they don’t have the time.

  • Teachable

    • One of the most important qualities of a biblical leader is their ability to receive instruction, correction and reproof. How do you receive constructive criticism? Do you welcome it or do you become defensive?

  • Replicable

    • Can you teach others what you have learned? Can you coach others and so replicate your ministry DNA, vision, passion and skills?

 THE HOW

Click Image for PDF File

  • Read Launching Leaders from VineyardUSA. It’s short, sweet and insightful.

  • The key to leadership development is to start early—usually earlier than you think. That’s why the 3/3s Format used in Discover Discipleship Groups asks this question every week: Who will facilitate the next meeting? As quickly as possible, start sharing leadership responsibility. This is the best way to raise leaders.

  • So give manageable and controlled amounts of leadership away and see how people do. Don’t dump them into the leadership deep end. Let them test the water in the shallow end.

  • Use the MAWL pattern of leadership training …

    • MODEL

      I Lead / You Watch / We Talk

    • ASSIST

      (Part 1) I Lead / You Help / We Talk

      (Part 2) You Lead / I Help / We Talk

    • WATCH

      You Lead / I Watch / We Talk

    • LAUNCH

      You Lead / We Keep Talking / I MAWL Someone New

  • Use the Discovery Discipleship Group - 3/3s Format when MAWLing your apprentice leader …

    • Connect - Care, prayer and loving accountability for previous I will statements

    • Discover - Training using Lead The Way Handbook

    • Lead - I will statements flowing from the training

  • Lead The Way Handbook has been designed to help you systematically MAWL your apprentice leader.

  • Use Lead The Way Progress Chart.

  • Commission a new leader and launch a new MicroChurch working with The Way Network.

SUPPORT

Acts 15:41

[Paul] went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

  • You can do it … we can help!

  • Stay in touch with your apprenticing MicroChurch leader. You’ll need their ongoing support and encouragement.

  • Network Support Team

  • Once again, our hope and prayer is that we can help you “build with care” using the best Kingdom resources available.

1 Corinthians 3:10-15

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

  • Plan on attending The Way’s ongoing Leadership Support meetings.

Galatians 6:9-10

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers