Sep

Training Thursdays: Finding and Developing Apprentices

Posted by greg Published in JFL (Just for Leaders), Training Thursdays

Small Groups Ministries have to ask several questions about who they are and why they exist. The most important question they have to ask is whether they are going to be a ministry OF small groups or simply WITH small groups. If a ministry is going to be OF small groups then there is no real need to stress over Finding and Developing Apprentices. However, if your ministry decides it is essential to have a ministry WITH small groups, then Finding and Developing Apprentices will never been more important.

Leadership qualifications of potential Apprentices must be understood (I got this from somewhere else, just forgot who, so to the Glory of God I submit these qualifications):

Faithfulness- Is the potential apprentice dependable and trustworthy?

Availability- Is the apprentice accessible and approachable? Being a small group leader is a very difficult ministry?

Inspirational- Does the hopeful leader desire to serve and inspire others towards depth with God?

Teachability- Is there a willingness to learn and grow?

Humility- Are they broken and contrite?

A leader should keep their eyes open to spotting these F.A.I.T.H type seeds in people who might join you in ministry. Growing a small group has more to do with leadership development and multiplication than it has to do with adding members to your group.

If a leader wants to develop apprentices they…

must be committed to their development,
be a motivator,
make room for failure (teach them to take risks),
have biblical training philosophy (like Jesus- He does it, they watch! He does it, they help! They do it, Jesus helps! They do it and Jesus is in the background cheering them on).

“A true and safe leader is likely to be one who has no desire to lead, but is forced into a position of leadership by the inward pressure of the Holy Spirit and the press of external situations. I believe it might be accepted as a fairly reliable rule of thumb that the man who is ambitious to lead is disqualified as a leader.” A.W. Tozer

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Did You Hear the One About the Monkey and the Fish? (August 29th, 2009)
Is it the Prodigal Son or the Prodigal God?? (August 24th, 2009)
What Makes One Idea Better than Another? (August 20th, 2009)

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Pat Sikora said in September 20th, 2007 at 11:58 am

Greg, excellent article. I had a similar list in my first book, Small Group Bible Studies: How to Lead Them (Standard, 1991). But my list was FAT. I think I like FAITH better. I’ll link to this at my blog at http://www.whydidntyouwarnme.com. That’s another great resource for leaders and apprentices. Blessings.

Character of a Good Appretice : Why Didn’t You Warn Me? said in September 20th, 2007 at 12:14 pm

[…] has a great article on developing apprentices for small groups at Dying of Thirst. He uses the acronym FAITH, which I like a lot better than the FAT I used in my original list in my […]

greg said in September 20th, 2007 at 2:17 pm

I actually got this from somewhere else…i just can’t remember where i got it from but have used it in my leadership training…thanks for the props though! glory to God…

Mandy said in September 20th, 2007 at 9:00 pm

Could you have gotten it from Bo Boshers’ book “The Be With Factor”? I lent my copy out and can not check for you, but I remember him saying something similar in NY talking about how to pick a student to mentor.

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