In the context of church planting, why is raising faithful leaders important and how? Rev Tay Hey Tong, having planted two churches and assisted in planting another, shares his personal experiences and reasons.
The Meaning of Faithful Leaders
Matthew 25:20-21 indicates that the servant who was entrusted with five bags of gold was good and faithful because he yielded a maximum return of five more. His master in verse 21 replied: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” Another servant of his was entrusted with two bags of gold and yielded a maximum return of two more. The master gave him the same commendation as the previous servant: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:23 NIV). The above examples encourage us to raise servants, as well as leaders, who will be good and faithful, to yield maximum returns with whatever number of ‘bags of gold’ entrusted to them.
Another servant of his was entrusted with two bags of gold and yielded a maximum return of two more. The master gave him the same commendation as the previous servant: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:23 NIV).
My Experiences
It was tough planting our present church and raising faithful leaders from zero, especially when more than half of them were new converts. In addition, I had to do it alone as a tentmaker. My wife was only able to help with the work on weekends as she held a job outside. Nevertheless, since starting Grace Christian Centre in 1999, modestly, I have been able to raise 20 faithful leaders: nine adult leaders, one adult associate leader, six youth assistant leaders and four other potential adult leaders for the various church ministries, namely, discipleship, worship, administration, evangelism, visitation, teaching, helps and others. Currently, we run five discipleship groups on Saturdays—an average of five people per group, three cell groups with an average of ten per group—two on weekdays and one on Sundays, one Sunday Youth Topical Bible Study group, averaging six in attendance and one Adult Bible Study group, averaging
four adults attending. We have a number of 70 members attending our church.
How Did I Raise Faithful Leaders?
First and foremost, I raised my leaders by nurturing them through my weekly sermons preached in the three services: one Saturday Youth Service, one Sunday Mandarin Service and one Sunday Adult Service. I
usually preached on Books of the Bible in series, especially the Four Gospels and Pauline Epistles.
Additionally, I discipled them by giving them Foundational Lessons from one to seven to teach members in their groups. Each Foundation consists of 12 lessons. Some of the themes in the Foundational Lessons include Evangelism, Missions, Giving, Prayers, Fruit of the Holy Spirit, Gifts of the Holy Spirit and Ministries Involvements. Through the 84 lessons, I hoped to lay a strong foundation for every available member to be strong in faith, in character and knowledge of the Lord through the lessons taught by the leaders.
Additionally, I discipled them by giving them Foundational Lessons from one to seven to teach members in their groups.
Furthermore, during the Sunday Cell Group, I gave five leaders the opportunities to share on God’s word. Every Sunday, I gave them each an opportunity to share six verses, for example, on the Book of Psalms.
So far, we have completed Deuteronomy, The Gospel of John, Philippians, Colossians—just to name a few. I advised them to read good scholarly commentaries such as The New International Commentary on the New and Old Testament Commentary, Word Biblical Commentary and The Anchor Bible for references and guidance. Nevertheless, they must read the Bible first, understand its content before reading commentaries for cultural and historical background information, well-explained interpretations based on
textual evidence, and others.
Every Sunday, I gave them each an opportunity to share six verses, for example, on the Book of Psalms.
Moreover, during field works, some of the leaders would follow me to do door-to-door evangelism, hospital and home visits, house dedications, funerals and give free tuition in church on Saturdays as part of our outreach program. I would give them opportunities to go in pairs to share the gospel as they went from door-to-door to do evangelism. During hospital and home visits, I would ask them to pray for the sick, pray for house and office dedications. I had, from time to time, gave my leaders feedback on how to do the ministries more effectively. For instance, in evangelism, I would urge them to share the gospel with those who were receptive. I also demonstrated to them how to lead sinners to say a prayer of salvation before Jesus. During hospital visits, as they prayed for the sick, they saw the power of God came upon the sick and how they were miraculously healed, confirming God’s word with signs, wonders and salvation of souls. Hence, they were shown the ways and encouraged to serve God more effectively.
I had, from time to time, gave my leaders feedback on how to do the ministries more effectively.
Why Is It Important to Raise Faithful Leaders?
Apostle Paul raised Timothy as the pastor of the church of Ephesus. He brought up Epaphras as the pioneer of the church of Colossae. He produced Titus as the Bishop of the Island of Crete. Apostle Paul was the model for raising faithful leaders like Timothy, Epaphras and Titus. In John 15:8 and 16:16, Jesus exhorted his disciples to produce much fruit and for that fruit to last. So, we should follow Jesus’ instructions in producing many leaders who would continue to serve God in the church. Furthermore, in
2 Timothy 2:12, Paul encouraged Timothy to raise up reliable people who would be qualified to instruct others. So, we should also follow Apostle Paul’s example in raising faithful leaders in order that God’s work can continue to expand. Thus, in following the ways of Jesus and the Apostle Paul, we are fulfilling the Great Commission in bringing the gospel to the nations, making not only disciples, but raising faithful leaders in God’s eternal kingdom through planting local churches.
Furthermore, in 2 Timothy 2:12, Paul encouraged Timothy to raise up reliable people who would be qualified to instruct others. So, we should also follow Apostle Paul’s example in raising faithful leaders in order that God’s work can continue to expand.
Rev Tay Hey Tong was trained theologically in the Bible Institute of Singapore, currently known as ACTS College. He also completed his master’s degrees with Asia Pacific Theological Seminary (APTS) and Trinity Theological College (TTC). In addition, he achieved his Master of Educational Management Degree with National Technological University. He planted two churches, one in New Delhi and the current church, Grace Christian Centre (GCC). He also assisted in planting another church. He is the Senior Pastor of GCC. He is married with two children.
