LEADERSHIP PIPELINE TRAINING: On September 30th and October 1st 2024, IBC Madrid participated in a Leadership Pipeline Training led by Scott Ball and Andrea Hesterberg from Healthy Churches Global and the International Baptist Convention. (This was two days after Sharon and I arrived in Madrid. Yes, we were jet-lagged!)
From the Training Workbook: “The Leadership Pipeline Design process empowers churches to rethink their key leadership structures and systems so that they can be more effective in developing more and better leaders. Over a two-day training and workshop, the team took the first small steps towards re-inventing how leaders are recruited, assessed, trained, and launched.” https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OgKVuggX0lYTt7S-_FN188A1hfkvfw5A/view?usp=share_link
2. BIBLICAL LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE: In the training we looked at leadership from the Biblical perspective and worked through the current specifics of team, leadership, and structure at IBC Madrid. You can read the full report here: Pipeline Report. https://drive.google.com/file/d/10Nx3ML_vf9xRpCMlYQvZFSwu9Iem3ntQ/view?usp=share_link
We looked at Biblical examples of leadership development, one of the clearest examples of this being the story of Jethro and Moses. When Jethro saw that Moses was carrying too much of the leadership burden alone, he offered wise counsel:
“Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.” (Exodus 18:21, ESV)
Here, we see a structured approach to leadership, where responsibility is distributed at different levels. These leadership tiers (L1–L5, as described in p. 10 of the Workbook) help clarify both whom a leader is responsible for and whom they answer to, creating a system of accountability and effectiveness in guiding God’s people.
This is the current leadership structure of IBC Madrid:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gXY4wHtxMUdfe8qYbUCtgqrL-RATw5d5/view?usp=share_link
In the training, we explored an alternative structure (p. 4 of the Report) that would group different teams into larger ministry areas. This was further refined (and continues to be discussed) as follows:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uuDT9LnZyjGin6PkiRdmqrupDoUijhba/view?usp=share_link
These are the different levels of leadership:
Level 1: Leading Self: Volunteering in any ministry
Level 2: Leading Others: Teacher assistants, etc.
Level 3: Leading Leaders: Teachers or Coordinators/Team Leaders
Level 4: Leading Departments: Ministers
Level 5: Leading the Organization: Pastor & Deacons
Understanding these levels allows us to assess where we are and what steps we need to take to strengthen leadership development. We identified that there are between 280-320 roles in all levels at IBC Madrid. We praise the Lord for all the people who have taken those roles! We have at least 200 L1 roles, 89 L2 roles, and 30 L3 roles. However, we currently have a lack of L4 leaders.
To achieve the goal of the Refresh process—becoming a healthy church—the church needs to equip healthy disciples who can lead in growing levels of responsibilities. This was a wake up call to make sure everyone in IBC Madrid is trained and empowered to fulfill their calling.
3. CHARACTER & CAPACITY CORE COMPETENCIES (pp. 11-12 of the Report): There is an increasing expectation for each level of ministry in the church (L1-L5) in both Character and Capacity. These must be clearly reflected in role descriptions for each role in the church, so every volunteer knows what they can expect and what is expected of them.
4. KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
- Explored a revised leadership structure and roles at the Board, Staff, and Volunteer levels (and the implications of making these shifts).
- Outlined current (and future) staffing needs, along with staff re-alignment that can occur in the near-term.
- Mapped out current volunteer opportunities and re-aligned them within a Pipeline structure.
- Defined levels of leadership within the church.
- Discussed re-vamping the current volunteer recruitment strategies to be more intentional and leverage Divine Design assessments.
- Defined the Core Competencies for leadership.
5. FURTHER GOALS:
- To utilize core competencies on every role description.
- To provide a clear and simple definition of each ministry team at IBC.
- To provide a template to each Coordinator/Team Leader and assist them in developing a clear and simple role description for every team member (L1-L3).
- To develop role descriptions for L4 Ministers and begin looking for people to fulfill these roles.
- To begin looking at training the next generation of ministers through interns, apprentices and residences.
- To develop role descriptions for L5 Pastor and Deacons.
- To develop written policies to guide the ministry of IBC Madrid.
PARTICIPANTS OF THE TRAINING:
1. Pastor Mark Bennett
2. Sharon Bennett
3. Pastor David Dixon
4. Susie Dixon
5. Ellena Iskandar
6. Moisés Lee
7. Tim Bermejo
8. Sachi Nkanza
9. Ellice Aquino
10. Bheng Belo
11. Andrew Blamo
12. Hillary Cernuda
13. José Cernuda