God loves local churches. He wants to see them built up and flourishing. He provides spiritual gifts of leadership to help them grow.  
Churches are God's teams for fulfilling his great purposes in the world, ensuring that his greatness and glory, and the good news of his grace, are received and rejoiced in everywhere.  
God wants to raise up leaders in your local church in all kinds of spheres and activities. But this book is for everyone, not just for leaders or potential leaders. In fact, the whole congregation should be asking how they can release those gifted by God to lead, to the fullest extent of their ability.  
This book is ideal for anyone asking whether God could use them as a leader in a home group, youth group, or indeed any other church activity. It will also offer fresh vision to existing leaders, and inspire those who are cultivating a fresh crop of new leaders.

Marcus Honeysett

fruitful leaders

Acknowledgments

Section 1:

I will build my church

1. God loves your church

Main principle: God wants to build up your local church, and he provides gifts of spiritual leadership to help the flock grow

2. What is spiritual leadership?

Main principle: The work of spiritual leaders is to serve other people in love, so that God receives glory

Section 2:

How to grow vibrant leaders in your church

3. Clear, dig and nurture

Main principle: New leaders emerge when there is fertile soil in which they can grow

4. Developing yourself as a spiritual leader

Main principle: Growing spiritual leaders always make time to nurture their hunger for God and their service of other people

5. Leaders who love the Holy Spirit and the Bible

Main principle: Spiritual leaders are identified by their desire to live by the Holy Spirit, under the authority of the Bible

6. Caring for yourself as a leader

Main principle: A well-nourished spiritual life is the bedrock for spiritual leadership

7. You could be a leader-maker

Main principle: You can learn to encourage and release new leaders

Section 3:

How to look after your leaders

8. Look out – There’s a cliff!

Main principle: Every church needs to devote itself urgently to the task of growing new leaders

The elephant in the room

9. How to love and encourage spiritual leaders

Main principle: Churches that actively nurture their leaders enjoy dynamic, spiritually fresh leadership. Churches that don't encourage leaders, don't.

10. Let your leaders lead

Main principle: The quickest way to destroy the vitality of spiritual leaders is to prevent them exercising their spiritual gifts

Conclusion: Spiritual leadership to the glory of God

Main principle: Leaders use their spiritual gifts to build and equip a God-glorifying people

Afterword: A vision for lifelong learning

By Tim Chester

Appendix 1: Growing in God – Spiritual review questions

A. Do I have a growing desire for God?

B. Am I actively pursuing Christlikeness?

C. Am I growing in spiritual beliefs and attitudes?

D. How are my personal spiritual practices?

E. What opportunities do I have to receive personal spiritual investment from others?

Appendix 2: Growing in leadership – Practical review exercise

Discipling others for their spiritual growth

Building Bible-centred prayerful living

Building a community of depth

Helping others have a vision for growing God's kingdom

Appendix 3: Elements to include in a leader-training course in your church

Discipling for spiritual growth

Training in leadership skills

Appendix 4: Leadership-killers

Pressures on family and friendships

Feeling devalued

Feeling unable to lead

Feeling the job is too big for me

Feeling spiritually isolated

Understanding leadership

Leadership character

Growing as a leader

Surviving as a leader

Leadership wisdom

Leadership practicalities

What is Living Leadership?

Commendations for Living Leadership

Notes

Chapter 3 Clear, dig and nurture

Chapter 4 Developing yourself as a spiritual leader

Chapter 6 Caring for yourself as a leader

Chapter 7 You could be a leader-maker

Chapter 8 Look out – There's a cliff!

Chapter 9 How to love and encourage spiritual leaders

Chapter 10 Let your leaders lead

__How can you be an effective leader-maker/leader-making church? There s a critical need right now for new leaders in churches - this should never be the preserve of the elite few.__

This book will help you identify, encourage and keep new leaders, planning for maximum effectiveness in the long-term future.

__Extract from Chapter 1__

1\. GOD LOVES YOUR CHURCH

Main principle: God wants to build up your local church, and he provides gifts of spiritual leadership to help the flock grow.

Communities of Christians come in many shapes, sizes and flavours. God is using large and small churches, multicultural and mono-cultural churches, churches with lively worship styles that appeal to the young, and churches that prefer solid older hymns, to witness to neighbourhoods and to the world. Bible-believing churches may exhibit many surface differences, but one thing is true of them all: God loves local churches. He wants to see them built up and flourishing.

Local churches are God's idea, not human institutions. The Bible describes them as the household of God. It says that God lives in the middle of these communities of disciples, through the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:22). Jesus revealed just how important churches are to God. He promised God's spiritual provision and protection as we participate in God s plans and purposes when he said, I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it (Matthew 16:18).

Jesus is committed to building his church around the world. And in case you are still in any doubt about how valuable churches are to God, he says in Ephesians 1 that he has made Jesus head over everything in the whole universe for the church. Just imagine that - Jesus is exerting his ruling power in heaven for the good of your church here on earth. Maybe you are part of a church where this reality feels a long way from your current experience, but that doesn't mean it isn't true. God wants your church to thrive. That might not mean spectacular growth in numbers, but it will mean all the believers knowing and enjoying God and falling deeper and deeper in love with Jesus Christ.

'As timely as it is wise; as practical as it is focused; as convicting as it is scriptural. Marcus

The Good Book Stall

God loves the local church. He longs for health and flourishing. He provides spiritual gifts of leadership to see growth. So this thorough, engaging, broad, welcome and refreshing input from Marcus Honeysett meaningfully resources this goal.  
Probing questions are some of the key legacy of Honeysett’s writing. There will be a breadth of contexts where this title will have searching, biblical and lasting vocational effect. Scriptural and accessible with the points for consideration having particular help in the potential of leadership. The value of the appendices is almost worth the price of the book! Solid and full of safe wisdom for the way to serve Jesus!

Fruitful Leaders

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