Helping ministers grow through union with Christ in character, knowledge & skill

Facilitating a minister's growth in...

character (heart) - the foundations of all ministry
competency (head and hands) - fruitfully applying knowledge and skill within a particular ministry context to...
- engage non-believers (win the lost)
- nurture believers (build believers)
- equip workers
- multiply leaders, ministries and churches

Great Commandment - Great Commission (GC2) ministers grow as they experience and express God's triune love and life. Responding to the Spirit's call and gifting for ministry, they present themselves in Christ as people who are faithful, teachable and service oriented.

God calls established leaders to help such people grow through union with Jesus in character (heart) and competency (head and hands)...

development of character (heart) is facilitated by immersing ministers in environments that are conducive to the Holy Spirit's transforming work
development of competency is facilitated by training ministers in the knowledge (head) and skills (hands) of fruitful participation with Jesus in GC2 ministry within their particular context

Character: the minister's heart

Growth in character involves the transformation of the minister's heart in Jesus. This is the gracious work of the Holy Spirit and our role as equippers is, in large part, to provide nurturing environments that are conducive to his transforming work.

Emphasizing the environment is essential because Christ-like character is more often ‘caught’ than ‘taught.’ Therefore it is helpful for those who equip developing ministers to view their role as stewards who work to provide and sustain nurturing environments within which their students consistently encounter the triune God: from the Father, in the Son, through the Spirit.

GC2 ministry foundations

Our experience and study tell us that nurturing ministry environments possess six defining characteristics - what we refer to as the ministry foundations.

These pertain to experiencing the triune God’s being and activity, which leads to the emergence of corresponding attributes of character in the developing minister.

This correspondence between the foundations (environment) and character attributes is unpacked in our presentation of the ministry foundations.

Competency: the minister's head and hands

Growth in ministry competency involves growing in knowledge (head) and skill (hands) and in ability to apply these in a particular context.

The ministry development team helps developing ministers grow in competency by providing training and coaching in GC2 strategy.

This training focuses on developing competency in each of the four Key Result Areas (KRA's) of disciplemaking ministry. Our 'competency matrix' addresses each of these four KRA's as follows:

Each of these charts has three parts:

Essential knowledge. The knowledge that is essential for competency related to that KRA.
Essential skills. The skills that are essential for competency related to that KRA.
Equipping toolbox. Resources that will be helpful to equippers and developing ministers in growing in competency related to that KRA. These resources may be used to facilitate team discussions, mentoring sessions, individual study, etc. Resource lists will grow as other resources are identified or produced. Your resource recommendations are welcomed - please send them to our webmaster . And note that our resource recommendations do not constitute unreserved endorsement by the WCG.

A few notes of explanation about using these charts:

They may seem a bit overwhelming in sheer volume. But view them as a compendium of resources to be used when and where help is needed. Ministry development is more a marathon than a sprint. So take is slow - one step at a time.
Use them flexibly to fit the gifting and ministry context of each developing minister and the coaches and mentors who assist them.
They suggest the importance of measuring development progress. Such measurement is important and is encouraged. But measure with tact, mercy and with an eye toward encouragement.
Growth in competency involves more than acquiring 'head knowledge.' Developing ministers need lots of ‘hands on’ opportunities to apply in real-life ministry what they are learning. Equippers and supervisors are encouraged to provide such opportunities.