Greg Surratt is the Lead Pastor of Seacost Church, a multi-site church in North & South Carolina and the founder of the Association of Related Churches (ARC).

2 Timothy 2:1-2, “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.”

1. Share a great dream.
   • “At the heart of every great group is a shared dream.  All great groups believe that they are on a mission from God, that they could change the world, make a dent in the universe…that belief is what brings teh necessary cohesion and energy to their work.” -Warren Bennis
   • “Vision is one of the least understood – and most overused – terms in the language.  Vision is simply a combination of three basic elements:  (1) an organization’s fundamental reason for existence beyond just making money (often called its mission or purpose); (2) it’s timeless, unchanging core values; and (3) huge and audacious – but ultimately achievable – aspirations for its own future (I like to call these BHAGs, for ‘big hairy audacious goals’).” -Jim Collins 
   • What’s in your heart?  Is your dream big enough that there’s no way you can do it on your own?
2. Choose the right players.
   • “Great vision without great people is irrelevant.” -Jim Collins
   • If you don’t know what you’re looking for, you’ll never know when you find it.
   • Tom Sawyer Leaders:
     • Visionary Leaders – They can see fences that need to be painted.
     • Resourceful Leaders – They aren’t easily discouraged by big paint jobs and limited resources.
       • There’s never enough money.
     • Inspirational Leaders – They can convince a group of friends that paintin fences for free on a Saturday is fun.
     • Delegating Leaders – They get a bigger thrill out of seeing other’s paint than actually doing it themselves.
       • We can’t afford to pay people to do the work of the ministry, we can only pay people to train others to do the work of the ministry.
3. Build a ministry pipeline.
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     • “Winners don’t find successors – they create them.” -Noel Tichy
     • 2 Kings 4:2-4, “Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you?  Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
   • The solution to our problem is probably in our own house.
   • We are usually too quick to say there is nothing in the house.
   • We need to have a pipeline ready so God can provide a leader.
     • Define the pipeline
       • Six Levels of Leadership (More info at nextsteps.org)
         • Leading Yourself
         • Leading Others
         • Leading Leaders
         • Leading Departments
         • Leading Campuses
         • Leading Churches
     • Develop the Process
     • Identify where the players are in the pipeline.
     • Help each player take their next step.
4. Empower them to do ministry.
5. Review their progress.
   • Reward them
   • Re-assign them
   • Release them

Ministry begins with a dream and God fills in the blanks.