My first full-time ministry job was as a youth pastor, and I was eager – maybe too eager – to develop leaders.
So, I recruited Larry as my intern. Funny thing: Larry was just a year younger than me. Technically, I was mentoring the next generation… but I was part of that generation too.
One day, I took Larry on a hospital visit to see a young adult recovering from gastric bypass surgery. I briefed him on our pastoral strategy: Be encouraging, pray, and don’t stay too long. Simple.
We walked in. I introduced us with confidence, ready to offer deep spiritual comfort. Then my mouth said what my brain should’ve stopped:
“Making the decision to go forward with this surgery took a lot of guts.”
Larry looked down, biting his lip to keep from losing it. The patient stared at me, stunned. And I stood there, watching my credibility vanish.
That day, I didn’t just model what to do – I gave Larry a front-row seat to what not to do.
Leadership development is messy. Mistakes are guaranteed. But we don’t stop. We keep investing, apprenticing, and mobilizing the next generation – just with more humility… and fewer puns in hospital rooms.
Thankfully, we have a better model: Jesus.
4 Practices for Mobilizing Next-Gen Leaders
Jesus and the disciples were literally creating the future church! He decided to do it with 12 next-gen leaders. Most scholars will agree that 11 of the 12 disciples were most likely teenagers and Peter was the old man in the group in his early 20’s. Jesus knew a movement would only happen by continually apprenticing and mobilizing next-generation leaders. This is exactly what we see Jesus doing in the gospel of Mark:
Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. – Mark 3:13-15
Jesus could feel the weight of His mission. The crowds were pressing in; they were hungry for miracles and desperate for healing. Yet, amid the noise of growing influence, He did something counterintuitive – He retreated. Not to escape, but to invest.
Mark 3:13-15 describes a pivotal moment in Jesus’ leadership. He ascended a mountainside, a deliberate act often signifying divine encounters. He wasn’t escaping for a personal retreat; He was getting away with his disciples. They were not first round draft picks; they were people near him and open to him. And he saw in these men – fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot – the potential for a movement.
Jesus called them for two intertwined purposes: to be with Him and to be sent out. This dual calling – presence before mission – reveals His leadership model. To equip them to proclaim the gospel, cast out demons, or perform mighty works, they needed proximity to Him. Jesus’ strategy wasn’t just teaching them truths; He was shaping them through relationship.
This passage is rich with implications for you and me. Leadership isn’t a mass-production process. Jesus didn’t gather a stadium; He built a small, committed team. He didn’t prioritize the most qualified; He called the most willing – those who made themselves available. All of Jesus’ disciples lived relatively close to Him, primarily in the region of Galilee, within walking distance or a short journey by boat.
The pattern is clear: Influence flows from intimacy. Jesus’ leadership model reminds us that our effectiveness isn’t measured by the crowds we create, but by the disciples we make and multiply.
There is so much for us to learn about developing and mobilizing the next generation of leaders from these verses. Let’s pull out four practices from how Jesus apprenticed and mobilized the 12.
Practice #1: Start with the Few, Not the Many (Mark 3:13-14)
In the verse that immediately precedes this section of Scripture, we see that the crowds swelled to large numbers. They all wanted a piece of Jesus. They wanted to hear Him talk; they wanted to get close to Him. But these verses say Jesus “Called to Him those he wanted.” I like to think that He picked the 12 people “He wanted” to hang out with and with whom “He wanted” to be friends. Jesus was establishing an apprenticeship based on friendship. I like to say, they were “friends on mission.” Equally important to note is that He didn’t give in to the attention and the clamoring of the crowd. Instead, He started with and focused on the few. Jesus knew that by focusing on the few He could start a movement that would change the world!
You should do the same. Select a few people, maybe just two or three; perhaps as many as a dozen. This will likely be a mixed group like the people Jesus chose. In His original group was Matthew, a tax-collector, an outcast and traitor to His fellow countrymen. But also, in the group was “Simon the Zealot,” a violent nationalist who pledged to die for his country. The man who was lost to patriotism and the fanatical patriot came together in Jesus’ group. Like Jesus, invest in the few and do everything you can to help them become disciple-makers. These people are near you already.
Practice #2: Prioritize Relationships, not Curriculum (Mark 3:14)
A phrase in verse 14 reveals the first reason why Jesus selected the 12; it was so that “they might be with Him.” It is clear that Jesus was prioritizing relationships with the 12. This was truly an apprenticeship that prioritized spending time together in which the 12 could observe, learn, and do what Jesus was doing. Apprenticeship is true to the intent and expression of how Jesus did disciple-making. Much of our disciple-making efforts are actually efforts that focus on finding and delivering the best content and curriculum.
But Jesus always prioritized the relationship. Life was Jesus’ classroom. Think about that for a moment – He used the everyday moments of life to make disciples and raise up leaders. And you can do the same! The best way to inspire and mobilize others is by inviting them into your daily life. The ordinary moments – your choices, your challenges, your victories – become powerful lessons for those you mentor. Just like Jesus, you can use the common, everyday experiences to shape and empower future leaders. Let your life be the curriculum for apprenticing.
Once you have selected a few people to whom you want to see grow into disciple-makers, determine your relational rhythms. How often will you meet, and what will the format be? Will you meet weekly or monthly? Will you meet face-to-face over coffee or online? To “be with” someone, you need to discuss and schedule your relational rhythms. This is essential for developing the next generation of leaders.
Practice #3: Focus on Sending Capacity, Not Seating Capacity (Mark 3:14,15)
The goal of apprenticeship with Jesus was not for the 12 to go through a set curriculum and then double that number to 24 who would go through the class, and then eventually have 48, and then 96, and keep growing the crowd who sat at Jesus’ feet. No!
The goal of apprenticeship is to “send them out” and they would do with others what you had done with them. The goal was mobilization. Jesus wanted his apprentices to get to the place where they could do what he was doing. Once they could “preach and …have authority to drive out demons,” the apprenticeship was complete. We should take the exact same approach.
Once you have selected your few people and establish a set of relational rhythms, it’s important to be clear about your expectations and process. You don’t want the people you are apprenticing to continue to serve forever as your assistant or even as a co-leader. You want them to grow to their full capacity and commission them. If you are developing them to lead a group, team, or start a church, verbalize that expectation. Make it very clear and get their agreement. Then explain the simple five-step apprenticeship process that you will use to develop and mobilize this new leader:
Step #1: I do. You watch. We talk.
Step #2: I do. You help. We talk.
Step #3: You do. I help. We talk.
Step #4: You do. I watch. We talk.
Step #5: You do. Someone else watches. You talk.
These five steps may take a few weeks or take many months. You can break any kind of serving or ministry into these five steps. There are two big mistakes people make with the five steps. The first one is not doing it. So many people know this process, but few actually do it. Not you! You will do it, right?! The second mistake is people skip the “We talk” part of each step. That is where the relationship is built, the training happens and that makes it absolutely essential. So when are they ready for commissioning and to be mobilized? That is simple. When both you and your apprentice think they are ready, they are ready. At that point, commission them and send them out with your blessing.
Practice #4: Hand Off Authority, Not Hold On to It (Mark 3:15)
Not only did Jesus send out His apprentices; He also gave them authority substantial enough to “drive out demons.” Don’t overlook or underestimate spelling out the authority you’re giving people. With authority, they’ll feel fully empowered, commissioned to serve, lead and blessed to go even farther than you did.
Ask those you’re apprenticing to state back to you the authority you’ve given them: “Please tell me what you think I’ve authorized you to do?” You will then know how they interpreted your words of empowerment and commissioning. You’ll know whether they are still acting as merely your assistant or are they ready to become disciple-maker themselves.
The 4 Practices and Creating Community Christian Church
In the early days of creating COMMUNITY, I was surrounded by a tight-knit group of friends who shared the same vision. We decided we were going to do what Jesus did to create a whole new generation of leaders. We were all between the ages of 21 and 26. So, we each started small groups for disciple-making and every one of us selected an apprentice leader from that group. My first apprentice was Jerry who was not yet a believer. He was interested in spiritual things and willing to be discipled, so I took him under my wing. I followed four simple practices that Jesus gives us in Mark 3:13-15 and within the next year Jerry said yes to Jesus, I baptized him and commissioned him to lead a new group. My teammates had all done the same, we had all mobilized another generation of new leaders to start new groups.
That was the first moment we saw real multiplication happening – disciples making disciple makers and establishing spiritual communities. It was energizing, and it confirmed that the vision of multiplication wasn’t just a dream – it was possible.
Apprenticing and Mobilizing my Successor
Now it is 35 years later, and COMMUNITY is one of the rare 7% of all churches that has a multiplying culture. It was time for me to move into the full-time CEO role at Exponential and apprentice a new lead pastor.
To tell that story I need to back up eight years. Our lead team at COMMUNITY knew that we were ready to multiply a new location in the growing suburb of Downers Grove. The town had all the makings of a thriving church community – families looking for meaningful connections, young professionals searching for purpose, and a spiritually hungry population. We would bring in a leadership resident to apprentice alongside a seasoned community pastor.
Seven years before, we had helped plant Mission Church in a nearby suburb. Their lead pastor had completed a one-year leadership residency with us, equipping him with the skills and confidence to launch his church. We had sent him out with 50 people and some significant seed money. When we asked him for recommendations, he didn’t hesitate: “You need to talk to Ted Coniaris.”
My brother Jon, who ran point on this initiative, reached out to Ted. As we got to know him, there was a culture fit. Ted had a track record of multiplying leaders, and he felt a deep conviction that he was called to serve at COMMUNITY. Looking back eight years later, it’s clear why he felt that conviction.
Ted accepted the challenge and completed a leadership residency, immersing himself in the culture, mission, and practices of COMMUNITY. Afterward, he took 40 people from the Yellow Box location and launched the Downers Grove site. The results were immediate. That first Sunday, 375 people showed up in a borrowed Lutheran church for a 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon service. And that was just the beginning. The site grew steadily, eventually purchasing and moving into its own facility.
Ted’s leadership was obvious and his desire to multiply at every level was real. Because of his proven faithfulness, we put him in an oversight role for all our locations. Soon after, we entrusted him with overseeing all of COMMUNITY’s expressions – physical locations, online platforms, microchurches, and even prison ministries. The following year, he joined our directional leadership team. It was evident: Ted was not just a capable leader; he was special.
There are two moments I won’t forget. The first was when we sat together in room 202, a glass-walled conference room known as the “fishbowl.” People could see in, but they couldn’t hear what was happening. That was where I asked Ted to pray about apprenticing as the next lead pastor of COMMUNITY. I don’t think he was surprised. It seemed like the natural next step to me, him, and many of us. After discussing it with his wife, Melissa, Ted came back with his answer: “Yes.”
We didn’t just hand over leadership overnight. Instead, we followed a five-step apprenticeship process that we had used for years to develop and mobilize a generation of leaders:
Step #1: I do. Ted watches. We talk.
Step #2: I do. Ted helps. We talk.
Step #3: Ted does. I help. We talk.
Step #4: Ted does. I watch. We talk.
Step #5: Ted does. Someone else watches. They talk.
I believed that one of the greatest gifts I could give COMMUNITY was to model reproducing leaders at the highest level. I wanted to reinforce a value: “every leader should have an apprentice” – even the lead pastor!
For 18 months, we carefully transitioned every aspect of leadership using this five-step framework. At first, Ted observed everything I did, staying close to me in meetings, strategy sessions, and leadership decisions. We met twice a month for extended debriefs, and my wife, Sue, and I would have frequent dinners with Ted and Melissa. We were so committed to this process that when teaching on video, at first, I would teach three-fourths of a Sunday message while Ted handled the remaining one-fourth. Gradually, he took on more responsibilities, and Ted would teach three-fourths and I would take the remaining one-fourth.
A pivotal moment in the transition was when I asked Ted to bring his vision script to our two-day lead team retreat – more than a year before he would officially step into the lead pastor role. There, he unveiled a new vision for COMMUNITY, something fresh that aligned with our foundational mission. It became clear to everyone that Ted wasn’t just continuing what we had built – he was leading us into something new.
That vision became known as “New Is Now.” Over the next year, Ted and our team rolled it out, inspiring the church to embrace the future. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Our congregation rallied behind it, giving sacrificially, serving passionately, and praying fervently. The church was responding so well to his leadership.
As we neared the final phase of the transition, I stepped back further. Ted led, and I watched – offering coaching from the sidelines, ensuring he had the space to lead while providing guidance when needed. It was exhilarating to see him fully step into his calling.
The second memorable moment was when our elders, senior staff, my brother Jon and I, along with our wives, gathered around Ted and his wife Melissa and prayed for them. This was the commissioning moment. The apprenticeship was complete. He had excelled and now he would become the lead pastor, and I would get out of his way and put my efforts into leading Exponential.
And the results? Nothing short of remarkable! As of this writing, all our expressions are growing (physical locations, micro-churches, prison locations, and online), our generosity is on the increase, and we are multiplying new churches!
You Can Do This!
Ted’s story is a testament to what happens when we take seriously apprenticing and mobilizing the next generation of leaders. And the best part? This isn’t unique to Ted or COMMUNITY.
You can do this, too.
Mobilizing next-gen leaders is not about waiting until the perfect person appears. That emerging leader is already in close proximity to you just like Ted was to me. Who is God bringing to mind right now? Take a moment now and write down their name in the margin or make a note in your journal or in the notes on your phone. Invite them into the journey and walk with them step by step.
The future of the church depends on leaders who are willing to develop and be developed. And if we commit to this, we’ll see not just one leader rise, but an entire movement of people mobilized for the mission of Jesus.
