One of the first things Jesus did in his public ministry was to identify and develop future leaders who would advance his kingdom and mission (Mark 1:16-20; John 1:35-51). Paul modeled this as well, investing in emerging leaders like Timothy and Titus, among others. How are we doing with this crucial aspect of leadership in the church today? Are we building for the next generation, or have we overlooked this crucial component of our mission?

Recently, LifeWay Research surveyed pastors about the church's leadership development and mission. We asked them to rate their agreement in the following three areas:

Investing in leaders through the church

The survey asked pastors to respond to this statement: "I am intentionally investing in leaders who will emerge over the next ten years."

Pastors strongly believe they are doing just that—67 percent strongly agreed and 26 percent somewhat agreed. Wow! That's 93 percent who are convinced that they are investing in emerging leaders. They also affirmed ...