Top 5 Reasons To (and not to!) Get An Apprentice

Great leaders create great leaders.  The following is taken from an article that speaks to this.  Check it out.  Who is your apprentice?

Carter Moss | CCC/NewThing Small Group Catalyst

I love developing new leaders, something we call "apprenticeship" around here. Last weekend I co-led a skill with all my campus leaders on the single most impactful thing we can do in ministry (which is invest in people, as in apprenticeship or discipleship).  So that got me thinking again about all the great reasons why to have an apprentice.

Let me start with the Top 5 Wrong Reasons To Get An Apprentice:
5)  Instant scapegoat at your side for whenever you get criticized
4)  No more looking for rides to the airport
3)  Finally someone to do all the hard work so you can catch up on sleep
2)  Gets you out of having to show up all the time
1)  Helps you become the next Donald Trump

Now let's get on with the Top 5 GREAT Reasons To Get An Apprentice:
5)  It accomplishes what God wants most--carrying out His mission (Matthew 28, 2 Tim 2:2)
4)  It accomplishes what we want most--leaving a legacy that carries on beyond us
3)  It allows us to reproduce and start new things (you can go start something new, or they can!)
2)  It makes you a better leader (less "making it up on the fly" and more intentionality)
1)  It's just a lot more fun to do ministry alongside someone

What do you think?

So, you really think you can do it alone...

Many Christians have this Lone Ranger mindset that says, "I can live out my Christian life alone."  They may attend church services, but they have no significant relationships.  They have no one that can ask them tough questions, challenge them, or even encourage them to grow in their faith.




Groups are vital to the spiritual health of believers.  That's why we hope to eventually get to 100% participation in groups.  This season we reached approx. 75% of the FCC membership involved in groups!  But we're not satisfied yet. 


Leader: Are you reproducing your self?  Are you raising up leaders in your group?  Great leaders raise up great leaders.  Who in your group can you start raising up?  

Making Disciples

What are we really doing?  As a group leader, what is my mission?  What am I trying to accomplish?  For some leaders, the goal is simply to fill a one hour time slot and survive.  For others, it's much more than that.  They might see it as an opportunity to transfer as much information as possible from them to their listeners.  Plus there's those that as long as there is food and fun, it's a success.  But are any of those our goal as a group leader?

Simply put, our goal is to Make Disciples.  That's what Jesus has called us to do (Matthew 28:19-20).  I believe that happens best in groups through relational learning.  Did you know that only 20% of us are auditory learners?  That means if all we do is teach in our groups, on average, only 20% are really getting the message.  Maybe that's why Jesus used relational learning as He grew His disciples.  He walked with them, asked them questions, and sent them out on mission.  Yes, He preached to the crowds, but He spent most of His time with the 12 pouring His life into theirs.  Then He challenges us to go and make disciples.

Only 2.4% of American Christians have ever led anyone to Jesus.  That's a sad statistic.  The American church hasn't been doing a good job of making disciples.  We've spent most of our time just distributing information.

As a leader, you're a critical part of the Disciple Making process here at FCC.  As leaders, we should be striving to make disciples, who make disciples, who make disciples...