I recently had lunch with a former student of mine who is currently a church planting leader with the Vineyard in Norway. He also works as a business consultant. He mentioned that a major study some years back had been done jointly by BI Norwegian Business School and Euro Business School looking at the dynamics of effective leaders. Essentially, they found five core leadership characteristics. Some of the ideas are hard to translate into English, but the closest equivalents are below.
- Goal orientation
- Close, hands-on follow-up
- Stimulating independent development (empowerment)
- Stimulating collaboration
- Supporting the belief in one’s own ability to master something
He noted that these leadership characteristics apply equally to the business world and to church planting. I think that’s true. When I look at these qualities in the context of church planters, I see essential elements for success.