The vision of the Emerging Leaders team is to cultivate a thriving emerging leader ecosystem in the NAB Conference that discovers calling, develops character and competence, and deploys leaders for faithful, fruitful, enduring ministry – and helps make the mentoring and development of younger leaders a normal part of life in every local church.
Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11–13 NLT)
Ths is the pathway we have established for cultivating this kind of growth in our younger leaders in the conference:
Discover > Discern > Develop > Deploy > Disciple.
Discover
We must begin by noticing who is emerging. We must ask ourselves as current leaders, where are flames showing up we can fan? This requires that we pay attention in broad-access environments, looking for those expressing interest, watching for anyone showing initiative and hunger, and seeking out those who have an openness and are already in positions of influence.
The initiatives within this area include Gen Z research, The Gathering, camp ministries, and local church youth groups.
Discern
The next step is clarifying who is ready for deeper investment by asking who is hungry for more. This is accomplished in more focused spaces where calling starts to get named, tested, and affirmed.
The initiatives within this area include discipleship programs, gap year programs, camp discipleship components, mentoring, and The Landing Youth Worker training/engagement.
Develop
Now that we have found those younger leaders who are hungry for more, we must build them up in depth, capacity, theology, and ministry strength. This is all about preparing them for faithful and fruitful ministry, what could be considered the formation and preparation zone in the ecosystem. The goal is to develop emerging leaders to be fruitful and faithful NAB ministers.
The initiatives within this area include Year of Equipping, Kairos, Kairos-adjacent regional discipleship schools, camp leadership development components, residency programs, internship programs, mentoring, VantagePoint3 offerings, and emerging leader development initiatives.
Deploy
This phase is about moving leaders into ministry responsibility, helping them find their best ministry fit and working with them to get them in the place God has prepared them for. This is where training becomes embodied in real ministry settings, the penultimate goal of the ecosystem. This includes connections to NAB ministries and programs that are first steps to NAB ministries.
The initiatives within this area include residency programs, internship programs, mentoring, and NAB and camp deployment networks (TBD).
Disciple
The ultimate end goal is sustaining leaders in maturity, health, and long-term fruitfulness with ongoing support. This is all about helping them serve faithfully for the long haul.
The initiatives within this area include peer-to-peer mentoring networks (TBD) and mentoring.