Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task.  – 1 Timothy 3:1

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.  – Ephesians 4:11-13

In the verses above from Ephesians we see an overarching view of leadership in the Church.  Jesus gave the church leaders so that, ultimately, each of us becomes fully grown and mature just as Jesus himself is.  With Jesus-level maturity being the goal for each of the members of 2.42 Church we need women and men who are willing to serve and lead the way for us to all grow up into the faith.  This application is a starting point for both the applicant, the current leadership, and the whole body of Christ to take specific strategic steps toward attaining that goal.

Leadership Application Process

Before you get started on the application let’s go over the application process!

• Become a member in 2.42 Church.
• Fill out the application and turn it in to someone on your homegroup’s Discipleship Team or a 2.42 Church staff member.
• The application will be reviewed by one of the staff and a member of your homegroup’s Discipleship Team.
• The staff and a member of your homegroup’s Discipleship Team will work with you to create a Personal Growth Plan for you (see below for more information).  This growth plan should cover at least a month and possibly much longer.
• Begin working on your growth plan.
• After you begin your growth plan, the 2.42 Church staff member will talk with members of the homegroup who are not on the discipleship team to give a full view of the applicant’s relationships with members of the homegroup.
• As a growth plan is nearing completion, a meeting will take place between the staff, a member of the homegroup Discipleship Team, and the applicant to discuss any questions and explain the expectations of their role.
• If the growth plan is completed to satisfaction a recommendation will be presented to an elder of 2.42 Church to recognize the applicant as a leader.
• The applicant should continue growing, regardless of if they are in a leadership position or not.

Personal Growth Plan

The largest part of the application process is the Personal Growth Plan (in a separate document).  It starts with a fairly thorough self-evaluation followed by some goal-making.  But the important part (and what takes longer) is what you do with those things.  Don’t be too discouraged by how much there might be to grow in!  We don’t expect anyone in this church to be an expert at most things but it will be helpful for everyone involved to understand what our strengths and weaknesses are. 

Here are some things that we will pay special attention to as we make a growth plan together and as you work out that plan.

• Humility and teachability
• How closely you follow Jesus
• High character and openness about areas of weak character
• Evangelism
• How much the people you will be leading feel loved by you
• How you respond to challenges to grow

What happens when I complete my growth plan and other requirements for leadership?

We’ll get with the applicant to discuss expectations of their position (Homegroup D-Team, Worship Leader, etc.) and give time to think about if it’s something the applicant feels God leading them toward.  If so then an elder in 2.42 Church will officially recognize them as a leader.  Many of the responsibilities will be similar to what is already being done but there is a noticeably increased level of commitment and expectation.  If the applicant doesn’t feel God leading them to serve in this way then we’re happy to have them continuing to serve at whatever capacity God is leading.  We think God’s church works best when we follow his direction for our roles and positions.

What happens if I don’t meet the requirements yet?

We’ll clearly explain what areas we feel the applicant isn’t quite ready to be added onto leadership just yet.  Some may be very simple requirements such as attendance at Sunday Services that simply need to be “checked off” before the applicant can be added.  Many others aren’t quite as easy to put a “checkmark” on such as character issues – there’s not an easy scale to see if someone is “humble enough.”  In these things we will explain that either there is a lack of positive evidence of a qualification (this might be a common case for new members to 2.42 Church) or there is the presence of enough negative evidence to warrant caution.  We will provide clear expectations and feedback for the applicant to consider should they desire leadership in the future.

A quick note about the questions below – at least a few of us in leadership have struggled with whatever thing you might be afraid to write down. Just be honest, we promise we’ll understand and talk through it.