How To Recruit Leaders Within A Large Church

Maybe like on a practical level, just kind of bullet point what your process looks like when you recruit new leaders with a church of your size. You know, you do have a pool, but you also need people to funnel through groups. So what does that process look like at Faith Chapel?

Our leaders, our facilitators, come directly from the groups that they're in. We, in fact all of our facilitators have come from the what Pure Desire offers. They want to pay it forward and they know that this is going to be a life commitment. They're going to have to be aware of their shortcomings and they want to continue in this program to maintain health, they want to maintain their marriage. And so that's where we get our leaders is from the groups themselves. We also have several people here from other churches that want to take it back to their church. And so they're in these groups and they soak it up like a sponge in order to take it back to their home churches. So that has been a really huge success and that's how we have trained our guys. Also Pure Desire makes it easy. With all the tools that you guys have, it makes it very easy. The training material, all of that is very beneficial and it's helpful. And so it's really what Pure Desire has done to allow us to bring that material forward to help these people become leaders.

One of the other things that we really have emphasized in the last two years is just every leader having a co leader and looking for a co leader. So in the last year, really year, year and a half, I've really tried to shift leadership to so that every leader is thinking about having a co leader and, and then asking. We really don't support somebody leading a process that they haven't co led through with another leader. So just having like that mindset, you know, Jesus when he said, you know, he gave his disciples his authority and sent them out to take the good news and preach the good news and you know, to deal with the darkness that was out there and speak directly to it, bring light to it. He sent them out two by two. And so we really tried to have that mindset. Yeah, peer desires, group leader training like is just absolutely necessary for somebody to lead. We background checks, you know, 50 state wide background check. And then we also include a pastoral interview that allows any pastor to highlight, you know, experience and insight and recommendations about a person so before anybody leads at Faith Chapel. And part of that's a system, you know, that was created before us. But that's, that is one of the, you know, that system is there to serve people and to add safety and protection for everybody involved. So those are just a couple more things that are a part of this process. Uh, we. But they've. But every. You know, when. Yeah, in two and a half years ago, there was. There was like, four groups, and now we've got multiple. And they've all come from the groups. And so I just invite people, like, I'll look for the person who. Who, you know, is loving recovery and like, personalizing the resources and really diving in. And. And I'll be like, hey, I've gotta be out. I've gotta be out this week. Will you lead group this week? And so I just start leaning into people early and inviting them to lead and then inviting them into that process. And, you know, we've had some people thrive and we've had others say, you know, I've got to step back for a season. But we just. So. So we. We just try to be really gracious. I had a leader text me yesterday, hey, I can't. I can't lead right now. In this season. I got to prioritize my family. And I just was immediate, you know, and my response was, no, I wasn't immediate. But by the end of the night, I was like, no, totally get it. Totally understand and support your decision to prioritize your health, your recovery, your family. We're here when you were ready to come back. And so just giving people a clear in and also an easy out if they need that. I think that empowers people to make that decision.

Yeah, totally.

Another thing, Robert, if you want to address our. Our SOS here in the community, which is very important.

Yeah. Another part of guidance and care is navigating relationship with those who are on the registry sexual offenders. And again, man, we're so grateful for peer desires. You know, we cannot run these groups well without operating according to best practices and group guidelines. And they're there for a reason. And. And a part of that is mandatory duty to report and legal dimensions. We live in a litigious society because, you know, well, for many different reasons, but we want to honor those. Those parameters of protection. And so, yeah, we. We are also helping, you know, people that are on the registry move towards sobriety and. And find tools and resources and relationships in the exact. And so we would advocate for them in the exact. Well, to the best of our ability, as we would simultaneously be advocating for survivors and those who have been affected, whether it be unwanted behavior or the betrayal, trauma, or the abuse. Man, we Just know that we have an enemy. That man wants to do everything he can to steal, kill, destroy, and inhibit connection. Inhibit, like, and drive people into shame and isolation and darkness. And. And so we're just. We're privileged to be able to provide care for many different types of beautiful people that, you know, I. I think about James Reeves. He's become a personal friend. And he says, Dr. Reeves, like all addiction, all emotionally destructive behavior, and all compulsive behavior, comes from three places. You know, things that are done from us, things that are done to us without our consent, taken from us without our consent, and then our own sin. And so what I love about Peter Zyrus is it really gives somebody a process to begin to understand, like, what was done to me, what was taken from me, what was handed to me that I didn't ask for, what am I responsible for? What lies came in at the point of trauma, and then what does God actually say? That's true. And then those prophetic promises and renewing of mind are so transformative, and that would apply for so many of these beautiful people that we get to help.

Yeah, Yeah. I feel like I should just break in and say that, you know, Robert is not a paid spokesman for Pure Desire Ministries. These two are both leading out of their pure passion, their heart and their passion. It's encouraging for us both, for you, Annie, and you, Robert, that you are continuing to say it's what Pure Desire provides. We use the resources, we follow the best practices, because sometimes here we can feel a little bit like we're talking into the void. We make podcasts, we make videos, we send out emails, and you don't always know if it's getting used or taken to heart. And when you hear a church like Faith Chapel that says, well, we just listen to what Pure Desire says and we go and do it and it's working. It's like, well, yes, that's what we hope for. That's what we're trying to do. I think for churches, there is a confidence factor there to say, you don't have to recreate the wheel. Yes, you can contextualize it in your own city, or there's always uniquenesses. But if, by and large, you just look and say, well, what would Pure Desire recommend? Okay, let's go and try that. We recommend it because we've paid the dumb tax, and we see that it works. We see what leads to effective groups and effective healing. And we're not just trying to create busy work. We're really trying to create a system And I think you can trust us. And I just love when a church says we just do what you guys have put out and it's working and it's awesome to hear that. So thank you.

Yeah, we do, we do trust you guys and we've built that trust and you've made yourselves available and highly integrative organization. And you know, it's incredible. And like in, in conjunction with what you're saying, Nick, I, when I was given the privilege because I like discovered this process while I was a pastor, I mean I was, I was baptizing, I was making disciples, I was preaching the good news, I was, I was very engaged. And like I told you earlier, I was, I was 40 hours a week hard labor, hardcore labor in a factory. And then I would do 20 hours at the church as a pastor, youth pastor, elder and, and I was still caught up in a binge purge cycle and didn't know that it was a binge purge cycle. I was medicating behavior or I was medicating wounds with behavior that wouldn't heal, but my performance based transactional mindset really wasn't healthy. And so when I did discover this process and the light bulbs began to come on and I began to understand that how, how I was impacted by my family of origin, how I was impacted by society and the cultural dynamics that contributed to, you know, denial structures. When I was, you know, given, you know, perspective into my experience and shame and the things that I was medicating and, and was experience healing, I began to go tell my story. So I was invited to the college, to the college that I graduated from. Hey, come tell your story. I was like, well, I'm going to talk about recovery. And so in terms of like presenting this process to others, Pure Desires has created like the way the talking points and they've created all these resources. And so I would go tell, I would go speak, but I would use these different materials that Pure Desires had already created. But then I would, I would put in my story and then, and then this, the last thing, Nick, that has been really beneficial is just being able to bring out, bring you guys to our community. That's another way that we're impacting your community. And we, you know, every time we brought you guys out to our community, the seats aren't as full as we'd like and, but, but we don't, we're not the experts and you guys are. And so it's just been radical that Pure Desires allows their summits to be streamed. That's going to be coming in September. And then, you know, in two weeks, we'll have Rodney and Tracy right out here. You know, he's your advancement specialist, sits on the board. She's his amazing wife, one of your licensed clinicians. And we're going to do a parent training and we're going to then have a five session conference. And we're inviting, you know, we've sent out thousands of emails. And so, you know, that's another way that if you're in a church that you can make a difference is you can bring out a person who knows the details and knows the complexities and yet can make it comprehensible and invite your community in your church and it will have an impact. Lives will be changed.

Yeah, that's awesome.