Developing Spiritual and Missional Leaders
An Advanced Leadership Cohort
LEADERSHIP CAPACITY CASE STUDY
THE DOWNTOWN PHOENIX CHURCH
TELL ME MORE
The Downtown Phoenix Church is a SBC missional church serves a one square mile area of downtown Phoenix. They do not own or rent a building and never will. They use spaces in the community to meet. They use a rooftop pool of a condo complex for baptism services. They use coffee shops for small group gatherings. They use larger spaces like activity rooms in apartment complexes, a small theatre room, and a jazz club for worship services. They even host worship services in the parks and the LGBTQ Community Center hosted their worship services twice.
They attract college students and senior citizens, the rich and the poor, male and female, families and singles. They are led by Pastor Jim Helman.
HERE IS WHAT THEY WERE FACING
About two years ago the church stalled. Even though they were active in outreach, evangelism, and discipleship, they were bumping their heads against a glass ceiling. They couldn’t figure it out. Everything seemed to be healthy, and in large part it was, but they didn’t numerically grow in any sustainable way. People were not as mobilized as they could.
About two years ago the church stalled. Even though they were active in outreach, evangelism, and discipleship, they were bumping their heads against a glass ceiling. They couldn’t figure it out. Everything seemed to be healthy, and in large part it was, but they didn’t numerically grow in any sustainable way. People were not as mobilized as they could.
HERE IS WHAT THEY WANTED TO ACHIEVE
They wanted to expand their capacity to minister to more people in better ways but didn’t know how. The pastor was perplexed and becoming resigned to this was just the way it was going to be even though he didn’t want it to be that way.
HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THE PASTOR PARTICIPATED IN THE COHORT
They tripled their leadership capacity.
Mobilizing people into ministry rather than recruiting them for pre-determined ministry slots was the key to unlock their capacity. Jim learned about this in third section of the cohort. He had everyone participate in a spiritual gifts assessment, figure out their passion, and their personalities, then aligned them accordingly.
What they discovered that as a group they were merciful people. This revelation helped them understand why people from all walks of life in need of mercy found a home.
They discovered that there were people sitting around that could be mobilized into ministry. Over the next few weeks they expanded from one small group to three (now four) because they discovered there were people who could lead groups and they were willing to do so. They also discovered that others were gifted and passionate about developing ministries where there were none.
As a result they numerically grew by about 30%.
HERE IS WHAT WAS SAID
“It’s often said that every Christian needs a Paul, a Barnabas, and a Timothy relationship in their life. I think this is especially relevant to anyone ministering through our churches. Pastors and ministers are called to be living examples of Christian growth. Too often, continuing education that resembles the relationship Paul had for Timothy is subjugated to an occasional conference or seminar that only solidifies our strengths but also feeds a comfortable bias.
David Zook and Ken Priddy have developed a tremendous opportunity to mentor pastors and staff. Their years of practical experiences have taught them truths that transcend so much of the usual denominational discussions. These guys point back to God’s Word first as their foundation, applies it to daily discussions, and then applies it to future goals both for the church and the members.
I highly recommend the partnership that they offer in pastoring the pastors and mentoring a new staff member. This type of continual education is especially critical as our culture continues to accelerate in changing!”
Jim Helman
Pastor/Church Planter
Downtown Phoenix Church/DTPHXCHURCH
HERE IS WHAT WE OBSERVED
The people were eager to participate in the spiritual gifting assessment. Many had participated in one in the past, but they knew they changed over the years and wanted to see their growth. It surprised everyone that the collective gift of the church was mercy. The light bulbs went on and they were like, “Oh, now I know why we are attracting those in need of mercy.”
It was also rewarding to witness people mobilizing themselves with confidence because they were affirmed in their gifting. A new energy took over the place and people were eager to do ministry. Since that time, the people who have stayed true to their gifting and passion are still serving the folks in that one square mile area.
The church’s capacity to minister to more people in betters ways has tripled. They have attracted about 30% more people to their gatherings. In April of 2024, they had about 25 kids show up out of the blue for one of their services. This is largely due to the capacity built over the past two years.
Because they embraced aquiring more knowledge and developing their ministry skills, the church is in a healthier place than it was two years ago.