Every church requires leaders to drive the congregation in the right direction. Consider yourself lucky if your child has the penchant for leadership because they can become great church leaders. You can do your bit by helping the child imbibe strong moral values. But it is only a start because nurturing church leaders from a young age is not a mean feat. You need to recognize the child’s potential in the first place and start early. Here is a valuable parental guide to raising a church leader of the future.
Focus on the spiritual potential
Every child is unique, and even siblings cannot have similar traits despite living in the same environment and sharing family values. You must realize the spiritual potential of your kids to understand who can become a leader in the future. But remember not to compare your children with each other. Let each of them grow in their space and find their calling. You can play a supporting role as a parent.
Let them fail and learn
The leadership road is not easy, and people try and fail during the journey more than once. Your child may have inborn discipleship traits and skills, but they are still prone to making mistakes. Let them fail and learn from their mistakes from an early age. It enables them to embrace failure as they grow up and step into a church leader’s role. They also develop the inherent skills of patience and persistence by embracing their shortcomings.
Emphasize education
Children with leadership potential should be as serious about academics as a sibling who wants to enter the professional world. Emphasize education even if their ultimate goal is to join the church and become a disciple-maker. A college degree serves as the foundation of their character. Moreover, your child will probably join a discipleship training program down the line. Being educated gives them a good start, and strengthens their life skills such as communication and leadership.
Model humility
True church leadership is about humility, so you should imbibe it in the child from a young age. Developing future leaders is all about modeling humility in your behavior. You may want to flaunt the skill and potential of your protégé, but it is the last thing you should do. Let the child share the same privileges and responsibilities as their siblings so that they grow up as humble human beings.
Help them create goals and plans
A future church will not have conventional goals and plans like other kids as they have a different calling. As a parent, you must help them identify their life goals and create a plan to achieve them. Remember that they should not set goals only on a whim but make calculated decisions just like any person pursuing a conventional career. Think short-term and long-term while helping them chart a course ahead.
Finally, encourage your child at every stage because leadership brings a fair share of challenges. Encourage them to imbibe faith, empathy, and positivity so that they can guide others and gain respect.