Leadership isn’t easy, but I have proven ideas on how to make it effective.

Effective leadership starts with Reach - Raise - Release.

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  Just before His ascension into Heaven, as recorded in Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gives us what is commonly referred to as the Great Commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” In Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus gives us the Great Commandments: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
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  First We Reach

  In these two statements, Jesus gives us the “what” and the “how” of REACH. The what is the Great Commission…we are to go into the world (which could be another country or might just be across the street) and reach the lost, tell them about Jesus, and help them make the decision to follow Christ. The how is the Great Commandment…we are to do all that we do with love. So there we have it: our mission and the attitude that we are to have.

  REACH is the term I use for evangelism. I like “reach” because it’s an action. It’s something I do, whether I’m having a one-on-one conversation with a friend or co-worker, or I’m participating in a local outreach (there’s that word again) to meet the physical needs of my community.

  And who are we trying to reach? The people who don't know Jesus. The people who are far from God. If you're going on a rescue mission, you don't rescue the people who are already in the lifeboat; you rescue the people who are drowning in the water. So, our reach is specifically to those who don't know Jesus, who are far from God. This is where it all starts. .
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  Then We Raise

  Our next calling is to RAISE new believers up in Christ, and it’s the term I use for discipleship. And this is where we take those whom we’ve reached and disciple them, walk with them on their new journey like you would when you bring a newborn home from the hospital.

  In John 3, Nicodemus asked Jesus how one gets to Heaven, and Jesus responded that you have to be born again. Being born again is reached. But raised is when you bring that baby home from the hospital, and it’s the next 18 years or so that you're raising them, teaching them, and loving them. It’s walking along with them as they go from “milk to meat.”

  A brand new Christian, starting this new relationship as an adopted son or daughter in Christ, needs a partner. Raising them up in Christ is everything we do, individually and as the church, to nurture and feed that young believer. It’s done on Sundays and in small groups; it’s teaching them to read the Bible, helping them learn how to pray, and how to worship.

  And since we never outgrow our need to learn and grow, it continues until we met Jesus face to face. But at some point, a follower of Christ has been raised to the point of being able to fulfill the Great Commission.
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  Finally… We Release

  RELEASE…It’s the part of the Great Commission where Jesus tells us to GO into all the world. There comes a time when a believer has learned enough, studied enough, gone to enough church services, and been in enough small groups. They’re reading the Bible and praying. Now it's time to go out there and minister to others and share what they’ve learned.

  As a follower of Christ, we each need to be a conduit for Jesus Christ and eventually get out there and bring others along, starting right where you live, at school, or at work.

  And honestly, it happens a lot quicker than most people think. There’s no “23-step” approach to sending people out into the (or their) world. But as we make ourselves available to God, He will use each of us to share the Gospel and the love of Jesus to those in need…and REACH-RAISE-RELEASE begins all over again.