The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.
The second best time is today.
Peter Drucker
Growing leaders is one of the essential ingredients in a church planting movement.
Recently a friend directed me to the Ministry Training Strategy (MTS) website. It’s worth a visit to see what their leadership farm looks like. While Sydney Anglicans play a prominent role in MTS, it transcends both Anglicanism and the Sydney diocese.
This is what I learnt:
1. They have a cause — “training men and women who can declare the saving work of Christ in the world.” No doubts about their message or their mission.
2. On the job training — apprenticeship in the field over two years. You learn by doing.
3. Multliplying mission — they are looking for leaders who can break new ground for the gospel and train others to do the same. Classroom academics need not apply.
4. Contagious — MTS develops long term partnerships with churches and pastors all over the place who provide apprentices with ministry experience, training and mentoring.
5. Pathways in — Apprentices find their way into MTS through pathways such as Youth Works and the Katoomba Youth Leadership Conference.
6. Pathways out — Many apprentices end up at Moore College where they begin their formal theological education as experienced and proven ministers. Eventually they return to the field and become recruiters and trainers of new apprentices. The loop is closed.
7. Begin with the end in mind — MTS has produced over 100 graduates with the same number currently in the system. They serve in the media and arts, in education, as pastors and church planters, as cross-cultural missionaries in six different countries.
Love to hear impressions from anyone who has experienced MTS.
One Comment
I attended a workshop run by their ‘chief’ Colin Marshall in Adelaide a few years back. It was excellent. The most simple, focussed but achievable methodology for producing a movement of leadership. Their basic (and I admit refreshing) method was to simply ask the best and brightest emerging leaders in their churches why they don’t consider using their tallents for the mission of His church rather then making lots of money. Their premise is that too often the people who make it into pastoral ministry are not the best. In many cases who can argue with that? My discomfort is with their patriarchial attitude to females so you have just got to put it through a ‘Sydney Anglican lense’ in order to see where they are coming from. However the methodology and commitment to training was of the highest calibre and one many denominations, churches and movements should seriously examine.
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[...] The previous post looks at 7 Lessons on Growing Leaders. This one fills out some the detail and came out of phone conversation with Colin Marshall who heads up MTS. [...]
[...] Like Wesley, Sydney Anglicans know how to grow leaders. Check out: 7 lessons on growing leaders and Growing leaders II [...]