Leadership Development Plan Assignment
Rebecca Xiong
LEAD 510: Biblical Foundations of Leadership
March 2, 2025
ii
Contents
Biblical Passages for Leadership..................................................................................................1
Biblical Principles..........................................................................................................................2
Methods and Models......................................................................................................................4
A Healthy Ministry and Environment.........................................................................................6
My Personal Plan...........................................................................................................................8
Conclusion....................................................................................................................................13
Bibliography.................................................................................................................................1
4
1
Leadership can be defined as a guiding and/or leading a group of people towards a
common goal. In the church, leadership involves members leading and inspiring one another to
know and follow Christ, living a life of faith. Church leadership can be taken in various forms,
such as pastoral, worship, deacons/deaconess, and more. Proper leadership is essential for the
church’s health and growth; this starts with leaders having qualities such as a strong foundation
in biblical knowledge, humility, compassion, with the commitment to love and serve others in a
Christ-like manner. This can be achieved by creating a leadership development plan where
churches will be able identify necessary biblical passages, principles, methods/models, and
culture needed to create healthy, growing, and multiplying leaders.
Biblical Passages for Leadership
In Scripture, there are numerous examples recorded of leaders throughout the Old and
New Testaments that God had built up in their time. In the Old Testament one can learn from
leaders such as Moses, who showed humility and resilience, Joshua who was known for his
courageousness, and even women, such as Deborah, who was a judge with wisdom and justice.
Following, in the New Testament, there are leaders like John the Baptist who never wavered in
directing others to Christ, Paul, who empowered churches through his letters and is best known
for going from the one who persecuted to becoming the persecuted, and most importantly, the
greatest servant of all that anyone could learn from, is Jesus.
To understand leadership, one must know its origins and God’s intentions for it. From the
beginning, God created man to be leaders – Genesis 1:26 says, then God said,:“Let us make
man:in our image,:after our likeness. And:let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and
over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every
creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (English Standard Version). Adam was given the role of
2
tending the Garden of Eden, stewarding over the livestock, ensuring its growth. The leadership
of Adam firstly exemplifies that God intended for man to naturally be in leadership, whether this
be over other man, or over the Earth. However, just as Adam shows strong leadership, his (and
Eve’s) downfall in leadership was their act of sin. Adam’s failure to prevent the eating of fruit
and being obedient to God, signifies his inability to fulfill the roles and responsibilities of his
leadership. This should display a picture for leaders to learn from Adam; that when someone is
in disobedience with God, or is easily influenced by sin, leadership in the church can fail.
Aside from people in Scripture who display leadership roles and qualities, all throughout
the Old and New Testament it is described what a good leader is. Exodus 18:21 says moreover,
look for:able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe,
and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens;
leadership is not meant to be done alone. On this verse specifically, Jethro is encouraging Moses
to choose the right men, those who fear the Lord, but are trustworthy and can judge with wisdom
and discernment. In the New Testament, Paul’s letter to Timothy consists of insight into
qualifications for overseers (1 Timothy 3:1-13). Paul explains to Timothy the qualifications for
overseers and deacons, defining what makes these leaders, leaders. Leadership can be found
throughout Scripture that will best fit for different leaders.
Biblical Principles
To develop healthy and growing leaders, there are three principles that can help achieve
this; the three principles can be identified as loving one another, having a desire to serve God and
others, and is rooted in the Word of God.
Believers are called to be loving, meaning as a leader, one should be loving as well. John
13:34-35, a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you,
3
you also are to love one another. Jesus makes a clear statement that loving one another is
necessary and a commandment to be followed with obedience. Leadership is primarily a heart
issue.1 When leaders who know God and have God in their heart, they will want to show that
love to others, God’s people. Leaders who demonstrate love and care unto others, creates a sense
of genuine compassion and most importantly, reflects God’s love. During Jesus’ ministry years,
it was often written about the way He loved the people, Jesus loved those who wronged Him,
(Jesus says to love the enemies; Luke 6:27-28), the way Jesus sat and ate with the sinners
(Matthew 9:10-11). Jesus’ love and actions are exemplary for believers to follow.
Leaders should have a desire to serve God and His people. The real spiritual leader is
focused on the service he and she can render to God and other people.2 Often in the church, there
will be the handful of people who serve because they believe that is what they are supposed to do
or they serve out of selfish intentions, but serving God is more than just that. While serving
others is what God desires for His people, He also wants to see His people serve because it is
their way of showing gratitude and demonstrating His love unto others. As a Christian leader,
your leadership is a reflection of God’s work in your life.3 Service is done out of selflessness,
Colossians 3:23-24 reminds believers, whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not
for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are
serving the Lord Christ. There is a far greater joy and reward that comes with serving God and
His people.
1 Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges, Lead like Jesus Revisited: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role
Model of All Time (Tennessee: W Publishing, 2016), 79.
2
J. Oswald Sander, Spiritual Leadership (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2017), 14.
3
Rod Dempsey, Dave Earley, and Adam McClendon, The Three Dimensional Leader: A Biblical, Spiritual
& Practical Guide to Christian Leadership (Bellingham: Kirkdale Press, 2023) 6.
4
The last principle for leaders, is to be leaders who are actively being rooted in God’s
Word. To learn and understand leadership in its origin, it begins with knowing what the Word of
God even says. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 perfectly states, all Scripture is breathed out by God and
profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,:that:the man
of God may be complete,:equipped:for every good work. Scripture is the foundation for faith; if
believers are not rooted in God’s Word, how would one know what they are believing, know
what to do, and how to live. Despite the Bible being written many centuries ago and having gone
through many translations over the years, the Word of God remains the same and will ever be
relevant and necessary.
Methods and Models
There are various methods and models of different leadership styles for every individual
leader and leadership organizations. The different leadership styles can be found in the Old
Testament, as well as the New Testament that can be imitated and used for current day
ministries.
In the Old Testament, leaders like Moses and Joshua were often viewed as leaders with
similar styles, though reading Scripture one can learn that Moses actually was a leader and
mentor to Joshua. Moses was a leader who led with humility and perseverance; he was often
given instructions by God Himself and acted upon them. Moses had insecurities, but his story
comes with great encouragement as he learned to trust that God will work within him, and by
faith Moses overcomes his natural tendency to shy away from his appointed role.4 Throughout
his ministries, Moses reigned his leadership over the Israelites with delegation, but in service to
God; being led by His Spirit and direction. Exodus 18:21-25, God speaks to Moses through
4 Don N. Howell Jr., Servants of the Servant: A Biblical Theology of Leadership (Eugene, OR: Wipf &
Stock Publishers, 2003), 29.
5
Jethro, where he received instructions to choose able and God-fearing men (18:21) delegating
them to lead the others (18:25). Joshua, a mentee of Moses, was a man of faith and full of
courage. He (and Caleb) stood firm against the fears of the majority. They challenge the people
to trust in the Lord who will surely give them the abundant land he has promised.5 Both Moses
and Joshua display leadership strengths who walked in obedience and with God; two fine
examples of leaders to follow.
In the New Testament, the best example one could follow, in either Testaments, is that of
Jesus Christ. Jesus was a man who came to serve, not to be served (Matthew 20:28); He
displayed characteristics like love, humility and compassion, and patience. Jesus had gathered
twelve disciples, all whom He raised up to be leaders, equipping them with knowledge and
wisdom to be able to equip others; He gave them encouragement and showed the strength of who
He was and the work that was still needing to be done. As a vision-caster Jesus gave his disciples
the perspective of an advancing kingdom that, though small in its beginnings, will yield a great
harvest among the nations.6 There is no other leader like Jesus and this is why He is the ultimate
example, however, there are still plenty other leaders that can be looked up to as well. One of the
greatest transformative stories is Paul. Paul who was once Saul, was a pharisee known for
persecuting Christians, until he met the Lord. He was a visionary leader who exemplifies what it
means to be changed by Jesus, living out the rest of his life in service to God. Paul’s unbending
allegiance to the corpus of revealed truth and his bold confrontation of those who depart from it
serve as a model for authentic leadership of all ages.7
5 Howell Jr., Servants of the Servant, 29.
6
Howell Jr., Servants of the Servant, 130.
7 Howell Jr., Servants of the Servant, 257.
6
In leadership there will always be many styles, methods, and practical steps that can be
taken to be the best leader one can be. It is up to the leader to determine what works best for
them, what works best for their team, to ensure that others are learning and actively growing in
their faith. 1 Timothy 4:12 says, let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers:an
example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
A Healthy Ministry and Environment
The building of a healthy ministry and work environment can be difficult, but it is
necessary that leaders work together to guarantee success (the growth of their members). To
have a healthy working environment, it starts with the leaders; leadership is just as efficient,
healthy, and growing, as its leader. A Christian leader is first a foremost, a committed follower of
Jesus Christ. If followers are to make an unwavering commitment to Christ, leaders who profess
to be committed Christ-followers must lead the way to committed discipleship.8 They should be
people who reflect Jesus, serve selflessly, and allow themselves to be moved or changed by the
Spirit. When leaders are aligned with God, this flows out into one another’s ministries.
To then have a healthy environment, leaders work together to create a sense of
welcoming and community, encourage one another’s spiritual growth, and maintain the same
vision and values, principles, and goals. Hebrews 10:24-25 says, and let us consider how to stir
up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some,
but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Leadership can
flow at its best when there is a community and relationship amongst one another already. God
8
Aubrey Malphurs, Being Leaders: The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership (Grand Rapids, MI:
Baker Books, 2003), 16.
7
calls for community and this should be displayed all throughout the ministry and the church. This
can look different for every leader and team, but the best way to start is by fostering the
relationship first. By getting to know one another on a personal level, the team dynamic can flow
together more smoothly. Spiritual growth is essential to leadership. When formational practices
is prioritized in ministry, one another can be more satisfied in God, we are practicing faithfulness
and fruitfulness.9 Colossians 3:16a says, Let:the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and
admonishing one another in all wisdom. Lastly, to build healthy working environment, Christian
leadership teams need to have a common vision, and they need to learn to work together.10 When
beginning down a new path of leadership, leaders should prioritize goal setting to make certain
one another knows how to best guarantee growth and success as a whole. There will be different
personalities, mindsets, and voices that will always be in the mix, but all work in unison for the
glory of God. Allow room for criticism, boundaries, and open communication to edify one
another’s leadership and ministry but do so with love, kindness, and good intentions. 2
Corinthians 13:11, finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with
one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
It is important for leadership to have a healthy working environment for leaders to thrive
in. Leadership is about serving others, equipping them with the knowledge of God, and
developing them to become their own leaders. If a leader is not in a healthy setting this can affect
the person and eventually, the ministry.
My Personal Plan
9 Chase Davis, “Healthy Pastors, Healthy Churches,” Acts 29 (2021): 1. https://www.acts29.com/healthy-
pastors-healthy-churches/.
10
Dempsey, Earley, and McClendon, The Three-Dimensional Leader, 194.
8
God has instilled in me a passion to serve women and youth girls ministries. My
leadership team will consist of women who love God and have a desire to serve others,
especially women in the church. To properly develop people and leaders to help me fulfill and
serve this mission and calling of mines, I will share with them in leadership development plan.
My leadership plans begins with teaching my leaders what it means to be a leader first. Firstly,
we must understand that leadership comes from God and a good leader will submit in obedience
to the authority of God. Those in leadership should have a strong foundation and relationship
with God. My foundational verses for leadership comes from Titus 1:7-9,
For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not:be arrogant or
quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent:or greedy for gain,:but hospitable, a lover of
good, self-controlled, upright, holy,:and disciplined. He must:hold firm to the trustworthy
word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in:sound doctrine and also to
rebuke those who contradict it.
By having set verses for leadership, this will set an expectation for all my leaders to follow.
Following these verses, I will create a mission statement that closely emulates it and will offer as
guidelines and accountability for them. My intended mission statement will be, as leaders and
women of God, we will reflect the image of Jesus in everything that we do, we will steward
God’s people to becoming more like Christ, we will love others as God loves us, we will not
indulge in the world, but be rooted in God’s Word, building a sound doctrine and growing in our
knowledge of Him. My desire for these women is that this leadership plan is active in their daily
life, that the passages, principles, methods, and cultural environment is being practiced in their
everyday lives. Every day we are called to be leaders, not just in the church but in the world.
The next step in my leadership plan, is to continue to build on the mission statement;
teaching the women what it means to have biblical principles that set a foundation for ministry.
My set of principles will include loving one another (this will include compassion), humility, and
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most importantly discipleship. Loving one another comes from John 13:34, a new commandment
I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one
another. Loving members of the church can be hard, but as God calls us to love His people, my
hope for my leaders is that they would love them despite their sins as God has done for them – to
me, this is what loving others means. Adding to loving one another, this also means having
compassion for the lost (loving those who do not know Christ). Humility comes from Philippians
2:3, do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant
than yourselves. Humility is a heart attitude that reflects a keen understanding of your limitations
and even inability to accomplish something on your own.11 A true servant is one who is humble
first toward God in obedience to the First and Greatest commandment: you shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.12 Secondly, a leader is humble towards
others, demonstrating God’s love that He has for me is the same love God has for you. As a
leader, one of the most important responsibility is discipleship. Leaders are called to move others
onto God’s agenda by leading them to fulfill the one thing Jesus asked us to do, make disciples.13
2 Timothy 2:2 says, and what have you heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust
to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. As disciples (and leaders) ourselves, the
goal should be to lead others with the teachings that we receive and be fully equipped to make
more disciples.
11 Blanchard and Hodges, Lead like Jesus, 79.
12
Dr. Michael Whiting, “Humility: The Heart of Servant Leadership,” Dallas Baptist University, (2021): 1.
https://www.dbu.edu/news/2021/06/humility-the-heart-of-servant-leadership.html.
13
Dr. Jim Thomas, “Leadership is Discipleship,” Discipleship: 1. https://discipleship.org/blog/leadership-is-
discipleship.
10
The next step in my discipleship plan is providing my leaders with practical steps and
methods to be the best leaders they can. Leadership is different when for each individual, how
someone leads will be different than the person next to them, this is why as a leader myself, my
goal would be determining how to support them and use them in their God-given gifts and
talents. I would begin with assessments such as the spiritual gifts test, Myer Briggs, and the
DISC. Through the results of these assessments, I will be able to visible see who works best
where, who works best with who, and how best to build them up as leaders.
The best model and method I would firstly encourage my leaders with, is to read the
ministry of Jesus. Jesus is our ultimate example when it comes to leadership and we are called to
be a living statement of who we are in Jesus, an identity evident in how we treat one another and
how we demonstrate the love of Jesus to the whole world.14 Jesus as a servant, prioritized the
needs of others, He served them with compassion and humility, and desired to see others come to
hear and know the Gospel. Mark 10:45 says for even the Son of Man came not to be served but
to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
The next method I would encourage my leaders with is the use of head, heart, and hands.
This model is best for leadership because it is a holistic approach that allows for the intellectual,
emotional, and practical parts of leadership and people to be involved intertwiningly. The use of
the head or intellectual is the philosophy side of leadership – leaders should develop their own
vision that will tell you and those you influence who you are (your purpose), where you are
going (your picture of the future), and what will guide your journey (your values).15 The head
centers on being strategic in leadership, being able to think critically and make decisive decisions
14 Blanchard and Hodges, Lead Like Jesus, 14.
15 Blanchard and Hodges, Lead Like Jesus, 123.
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as necessary. The heart focuses on the emotional and relational side of leadership. In your heart
is your why. Within your heart lies the reason you do what you do; your heart is home to your
intention and motivation. It is the core of who you are.16 Lastly, the hands is the application
portion. In leadership, this is when you are able to put into action what you think with your head
and how you feel with your heart – putting into service the way you know and love God. All
three of these work together to serve God and His people to the fullest potential and capability.
As a leader using this method, it allows for engagement of faith on all three of these levels to
build trust, community, and a deeper love for one another.
The last step in my leadership development plan is as the core leader, my aspiration is to
create a healthy environment for my leaders where they will grow faithfully and become
equipped to become their own core leaders in their future ministries. As I mentioned above, the
use of the assessments to highlight their styles and giftings will help me to create an environment
where they can do just this. Creating a healthy environment will look like a team that has open
and healthy conversations, accountability, and Bible studies that fosters growth and a deeper
relationship with God. As a leader and leadership team, it is important to be a team that can have
open communication. To do this, I intend to be transparent from the start; I believe in order for
your team to develop open communication, it begins with the core leader. This can look like me
being transparent with my goals and expectations as well as sharing who I am and sharing my
testimony with them. Gradually, I would incorporate fellowships where we gather and have
game nights, dinners, or activities planned. As teams begin to spend time with one another, my
anticipation is that we would grow closer to one another and this will naturally open up to being
able to have even the hardest of conversations. Following this, to further develop my leader’s
16
Blanchard and Hodges, Lead Like Jesus, 39.
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environment is to have accountability between one another. For me, accountability will not be
just between my co-leaders, but that they will keep me accountable as well. Proverbs 27:17 says,
iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. Accountability between leaders is important
because it ensures that the ministry will flow smoothly since the expectations are the same
throughout one another can make sure they are doing their part. If someone is not doing their
part, this is why I believe having open communication is necessary, because without it, we will
not be able to keep one another accountable honestly. Lastly, the best way to encourage a healthy
environment is by studying the Word of God together. Not only will this foster a growing
environment, but the leaders will continue to grow in their knowledge of the Lord. Believers
should never stop learning and as a leader, it is important to continue growing in one’s faith so
that they can better disciple and lead others towards Christ. My plan will be that I will start the
Bible studies, however, I intend to slowly let my other leaders lead the Bible studies as this will
equip them with comfortability and the skills needed to teach the Word of God and become their
own leaders. As a whole, my plan will be to assess my leaders every month to ensure that we are
consistently on the same path, there are no issues, and that everyone is flourishing well. To do
this, I intend to speak to them individually then as a whole team, measuring the rate of well-
being and success they feel.
As a growing and developing leader, I desire to inspire my fellow leaders to grow into
their own leadership who can develop their own leadership development plan. With the use of
my development plan, I am optimistic that it could be used in my leaders’ everyday life, their
careers, and future ministry opportunities.
Conclusion
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A leadership development plan is essential to developing leaders and teaching them
necessary skills needed to navigate challenges, grow in their faith, and become their own leaders.
With the helping hand of God, leaders can become fully equipped and equip others with the
knowledge of God, teaching them how to be disciples of Christ, and eventually, become leaders
who create leaders. Leadership will come with its challenges and hardships, but there is great
reward; Galatians 6:9 says, and let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will
reap, if we do not give up.
Bibliography
Blanchard, Ken, and Phil Hodges. Lead like Jesus Revisited: Lessons from the Greatest
Leadership Role Model of All Time. Tennessee: W Publishing, 2016.
14
Davis, Chase. “Healthy Pastors, Healthy Churches.” Acts 29 (2021): 1.
https://www.acts29.com/healthy-pastors-healthy-churches/.
Dempsey, Rod, Dave Earley, and Adam McClendon. The Three Dimensional Leader: A Biblical,
Spiritual & Practical Guide to Christian Leadership. Bellingham: Kirkdale Press, 2023.
Howell Jr., Don N. Servants of the Servant: A Biblical Theology of Leadership. Eugene, OR:
Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2003.
Malphurs, Aubrey. Being Leaders: The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership. Grand Rapids,
MI: Baker Books, 2003.
Sander, J. Oswald, Spiritual Leadership. Chicago: IL, Moody Publishers, 2017.
Thomas, Dr. Jim. “Leadership is Discipleship.” Discipleship: 1.
https://discipleship.org/blog/leadership-is-discipleship
Whiting, Dr. Michael. “Humility: The Heart of Servant Leadership.” Dallas Baptist University
(2021): 1. https://www.dbu.edu/news/2021/06/humility-the-heart-of-servant-
leadership.html.
