October 2022
If you missed our monthly coaching call with Dave Ferguson on October 19th, or you want to dig deeper into the practice of ‘Hero Making’ we encourage you to take some time to review the resources below.
“Movement is how the mission gets accomplished,” Dave told us, “It’s right there in Acts 1:8: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ”
How are you, in your life, mobilizing everyday people for the mission of Christ?
Not only do you need to be a hero maker, but you also need to help others be hero makers too. We cannot accomplish the Great Commission if we work to complete it on our own. When we work together and build up people in our churches to be leaders and plant their own churches, it is then that we will accomplish the Great Commission.
So, how do we begin to build up leaders within our churches? Well, you need to know if your church is ready to multiply. Dave shares that there are five levels of multiplying churches. Take a moment to watch this short video and answer the questions to know where your church is within the five levels.
Dave Ferguson's Hero Maker Intro
What is the secret for churches that fall in level four and level five? It sits in the church leadership. Those churches do what they do and have the impact they have because the leaders of those churches are not the heroes, instead, they have decided to focus their energy on making others the hero and building up leaders to go out and have an impact.
A good question to ask yourself: is your biggest accomplishment the influence you’ve had on those around you?
Jesus said to the disciples in John 14:12 that they would do even greater things than He had done in His ministry. Jesus was doing everything He could to invest in those around Him and build them up to go out and make disciples.
I think ministry best happens through my leadership → I think ministry best happens through multiplied leaders
Acts 1:8 uses ‘you’ three different times. “But YOU will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on YOU; and YOU will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Jesus, the ultimate hero, spent His ministry pouring into His disciples because He said in Acts 1:8, that ‘YOU’ will be my witnesses. Jesus set the example. If you want to impact the world, you need to shift your thinking from ‘how will MY ministry change the world’ to ‘how can I help OTHERS build ministries to change the world.’
Dave said, “If you don’t have a dream that makes you dependent on God, instead of you, you need a bigger dream. You’ve got to make sure your dream is bigger than something you can accomplish.”
I want to see what God can do through my leadership → I want to see what god can do through others and I let them know what I see in them
Are you taking time to see the leadership potential of those around you? If you have shifted your thinking to multiplication thinking then you now need to identify individuals you will invest in and build up to then turn around and do the same thing. You need to take the time to have I-C-N-U (‘I see in you’) conversations with your staff and individuals in your church. Give people permission to utilize the gifts that God has given them that maybe they don’t even see in themselves.
I share what I’ve learned to add more followers → I share my life to multiply disciples to the fourth generation (2 Timothy 2:2)
If we look at Christ’s ministry, we find that in John 3:22, Jesus went to spend time with His disciples. In the original Greek, Jesus ‘diatribo-ed’ or spent time rubbing off on His disciples. From Matthew 4:19, when Jesus calls his disciples to his death, there were 46 instances when Jesus spent time with ‘the few’ and only 17 events with the masses. That is almost a 3 to 1 ratio of time Jesus spent with his disciples versus groups of people. He did so to develop the disciples to then send them out to all nations.
How do we develop leaders?
I’m sure some of you skimmed past those five steps because you’ve seen it many times before, but how many times have you actually done it? This shift is the most crucial and when we get this one right, the others fall into place.
So, who is on your list of those you are diatribo-ing–rubbing off on?
I ask God to bless the use of my own gifts → I ask God to bless the leaders I’m sending out
As you have I-C-N-U conversations and take time to pour into and build up leaders, you are activating the gifts of those in your church. This shift will lead to an overabundance of people in your congregation who will do the same for the next generation.
Commissioning has an amazing impact on those being sent out. How is your church commissioning the leaders in your church? Take time to lay hands on those called to go out and pray over them.
I count people who show up to my thing → I count leaders who go out and do God’s thing
A hero maker doesn’t just count who is coming to your ministry event or how many people attend your church on a Sunday morning. The Bible says, “Seek first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33). It’s not about who is attending your church but how many people you are sending out to impact the Kingdom.
Dave said it best, “We don’t just grow to create seating capacity; we grow to create sending capacity.”
What should you be counting?
If you haven’t already read Dave Ferguson’s book Hero Maker (or even if you have) we encourage you to time to apply your study of the book to the reading guide.
