GROOMING THE NEXT GENERATION FOR LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR CONTEMPORARY CHURCH

GROOMING THE NEXT GENERATION FOR LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR CONTEMPORARY CHURCH

ABSTRACT

This study focused on grooming the next generation for leadership succession in Foursquare Gospel Church, Alaka District and its implication for contemporary church.  The researcher made use of historical method of research using both library and field work.  A library survey of books, journals, literatures and internet were carried out in LIFE Theological Seminary, Ikorodu.  One hundred and one copies of a well-structured questionnaire were also administered on members, workers, and pastorate of the church to support the library study.  This study was embarked on to evaluate the significance of leadership succession plan in order to groom the next generation for leadership. The researcher found out that there is need for churches to be intentional about grooming next generation leaders to ensure continuity of the vision of the Church. The study revealed that the stand of Foursquare Gospel Church, Alaka District is to continuously train young ministers to prepare them ahead to take over the baton of leadership.  The researcher therefore recommended that church leaders must continually organize trainings, seminars, workshops in order to keep the next generations involved in the leadership process of the Church and the church must officially monitor, evaluate, and reward these relationships. The researcher also recommends visionary leadership in every organization which takes into consideration young talents and gifts rather than seeing them as threats but furnish them and give them platform to express their gifting.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background to the Study

1.2       Statement of the Problem

1.3       Purpose of the Study

1.4       Significance of the study

1.5       Delimitation of the Study

1.6       Research Procedure

1.7       Limitation of the Study

1.8       Definition of Terms

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1       Concept of Leadership Succession

2.2       The Theories Surrounding Leadership Succession

2.3       Models Employed In Leadership Succession

2.4       The Importance of Leadership Succession

2.5       The Challenges and Solutions for Grooming the Next Generation

CHAPTER THREE: BIBLICAL REVIEW OF LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION

3.1       In the Old Testament

3.2       In the New Testament

 

CHAPTER FOUR: GROOMING THE NEXT GENERATION FOR LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION IN FOURSQUARE GOSPEL CHURCH ALAKA DISTRICT AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR CONTEMPORARY CHURCH

4.1       Brief History of Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria

4.2       Brief History of Foursquare Gospel Church, Alaka District

4.3       Leadership Succession in Foursquare Gospel Church, Alaka District

4.4       Challenges Facing Leadership Succession in Foursquare Gospel Church, Alaka District

4.5       Data Analysis and Interpretation

 

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1       Summary

5.2       Conclusions

5.3       Recommendations

APPENDICES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the Study

Most organizations found that they must rely on their employees as the only way to become stable in this competitive age. Organizations need to develop their employees’ knowledge, skills, talents and capabilities. Many organizations use succession planning to develop and maintain powerful leadership and other key employees to make sure that they address all the skills and competencies required for the economic environment.

One of the human resource tools which can help the current and future needs of organizations, is succession planning. Succession planning is a helpful approach to find the appropriate people who are needed for leadership positions or other key positions in the organizations. Haraf states that, the need for effective succession plans is increasing in the organizations, but many companies and organizations do not pay enough attention to such plans and many of them are facing many challenges and barriers in the process of these programs.

Historically, organizations only paid attention to replace the employees exactly before they were to leave the organization and the decision about the people who would replace them usually was made by the chief executives or board of directors. The focus was on replacing the employees, not to develop them and in many cases it did cost a lot for the organizations.

In fact, in today’s dynamic world where competition is high, work is fluid, environment is unpredictable, organizations are flatter, and the organizational configuration frequently changes, the old view of succession planning by defining specific people for the specific job does not work. Nowadays, organizations found the alternative way. They discovered that in order to be certain of having proper talents for the future needs, they must train leaders and key employees.

Succession planning is used as an essential and strategic tool for the organizations to attract, develop, and retain talent in the workforce. As a comprehensive definition, succession planning can be defined as an attempt to have a plan for the right number and quality of key position employees, including managers to cover retirements, promotions, serious illnesses, death or any new job, which may be created in the future of the organization’s plans.

1.2       Statement of the Problem

A church seeking to influence its membership for good insists on appropriate development of leadership skills in its young people. As such, young people have many latent abilities and skills in need to appropriate development in order for them to have a sense of fulfillment within the church. George Barna describes how many laypeople with abilities, gifts, and experiences that the church needs leave the church because they no longer can tolerate being part of a movement they perceive as lacking strong, visionary leadership.The departure of young, disillusioned, and discouraged professionals from churches in Nigeria evidences this fact.

Not enough work is being done to raise the next generation of ministers. Leadership experts agree that today the relational connection between the knowledge and experience giver and the receiver has weakened or is nonexistent. A leader concerned with developing others should be able to pass on skills, knowledge, and models to persons who can use them effectively.

Many current Foursquare pastors have not experienced proper mentoring relationships; as a result, leadership formation has not been very effective. Pastors have been trained for ministry according to the perspective of older leadership while neglecting the perspective of younger leaders. As a result, the younger generation feels disenchanted and excluded from what happens in the church. In order for this generation of leaders to help actualize one of God’s covenant promises for the Foursquare Gospel that the lord Jesus Christ shall meet the church at his return, then the church must develop and implement a system to prepare young ministers for leadership succession. If the young leaders that form the next generation of ministers do not experience effective mentoring, then their development will be marginal. This lack of development eventually will affect leadership succession and possibly lead to the decline of the Foursquare Gospel Church and perhaps even Christianity in Nigeria.. In Foursquare Gospel Church, AlakaDitrict The researcher therefore envisioned great leadership succession plan which will bridge to generation gap and pass the baton to the next generation.

The following are the questions prompted by the research:

1. What are pastors currently doing in Foursquare Gospel Church to mentor the next generation of church leaders, and what do the pastors believe are the effective aspects of that mentoring?
2. What is the perception of young leaders about the role and practice of their pastors in effectively mentoring them for leadership?
3. What vital elements should be included in an effective mentoring model in Foursquare Gospel Church, Alaka District.
   • Purpose of the Study

This research work is aimed at achieving the following objectives:

1. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the current practice of mentoring as a tool for leadership development for the next generation of leaders in the Foursquare Gospel Church by surveying pastors and young leaders in the FGC, Alaka District in order to prescribe a model for an effective mentoring program for leadership development.
2. To facilitate a profound leadership structure in Foursquare Gospel Church, Alaka District which will pave way for succession plan.

• To present different scholars opinion on leadership succession in church leadership.

1. To suggest remedies to the challenges of leadership succession in leadership succession and to reinforce Church leaders with materials relevant to mentoring of future leaders.
2. To incorporate new strategies, structures and systems that give platform for leadership succession.
3. To present the Biblical basis for leadership succession.

1.4       Significance of Study

This research study will he significant in many ways, at the end of’ the study, the following will be established.

1. This research will help ministers especially in Foursquare Gospel Church, Alaka District to review and when necessary improve their leadership structures and skills.
2. Outcome of the study will relevant to church planters for strategic administrative which will lead to Church growth.

• It will also be used as a reference materials for leaders outside the four walls of the church e.g. Business men and CEOs.

1. This research will also serve as a resource base to other scholars and researcher interested in carrying out further research in this field. Subsequently, if applied will go to an extent to provide new explanation to the topic.
2. It will also be relevant to Students obtaining courses in mentoring and leadership all over the world.
3. It shall also be relevant to the Foursquare of Gospel Church in Nigeria in analyzing the strength and weakness of her administrative structure

1.5       Delimitation of the Study

This study is strictly restricted to Foursquare Gospel Church, Alaka District, although the result can be applicable to the church in general.

1.6       Research Procedure

This section of the research work deals with the method and procedure used in carrying out the research work. It described the method of data collection, analyses, the population of the study, samples and sampling method.  The researcher conducted a survey of related literature such as textbooks, commentaries, dictionaries, concordance, Journals, Newspapers etc. The survey was done in the following libraries: LIFE Theological Seminary Library, Ikorodu, the researcher’s personal library and Foursquare Gospel Church, Alaka District’s Library.  The researcher also made great use of the internet facilities in which the appropriate reference were made when applicable. Information was collected from personal observations and verbal discussions of the researcher with some church members of the case study.

The Population used for this research work includes: Men and women in leadership which includes pastors, church council, head of ministries, deacon and deaconess and church members.  The main instrument used in carrying out this research work is questionnaire. Purposeful sampling techniques were used to sample pastors, deacon and deaconess and church members. The use of this technique became necessary because of the large number of probable respondents.

1.7       Limitation of the Study

The major impediments that confronted the research work are difficulty encountered in retrieving the questionnaires. Some ministers and members were also hoarding information from the research. In spite of these limitations, the research still achieves its purpose by consulting other sources for adequate information and collection of data.

1.8       Definition of Terms

Generational Gap

A difference in attitude between people of different generations, dreading to look of understanding, regarding beliefs, politics, values especially between parents and children. This could also be seen in leadership in organisation such as churches, companies or even political government whereby the core values, attitudes, perceptions, beliefs etc. of one age group vastly doffer from that of another group (generations); such that in the interaction between, there seems to be a gap.

Leadership

The concept has been severally defined by a different people. A few will be considered for discussion. “Leadership is the discipline or a process of deliberately exerting special influence within a group to move of towards goals of beneficial performance that fulfil the group real weeds.” According to Oswald Chambers, “Leadership is simply defined as influence” Leadership as a process whereby the leaders knows the way, shows the way, and the way that a group must go and influencing others to do same in order to achieve the groups goals. George Barna in his book ‘Effective leadership’ defines a Christian leader as someone who is call by God to lead and he leads with and through Christ like character and demonstrates the functional competences that permit effective leadership to take place.

Leadership Succession:

Vancil defined relay succession to be the smooth, unimpeded transfer of power from the incumbent to the heir apparent. This is linked with strong organisational performance and strategic continuity.

Mentoring:

Mentoring is described as “a relationship in which a more experienced manager helps a less experienced protégé. Mentoring is often conceived as a strategy to recruit and retain talent in many work and educational environments.  Burgess writes that there are two types of mentoring, spontaneous mentoring and planned mentoring. Spontaneous mentoring has been around for a long time. Smith &Zsohar posit that positive mentoring experiences occur when two similar individuals, who seem to have the right chemistry, form a mentoring relationship which evolves in unstructured ways and takes little organizational effort to keep it going. Formal mentoring is more challenging because people do not naturally select one another and not everyone is comfortable being a mentor. Galbraith & Maslin-Ostrowski mention that within the mentorship process, a mentor often assumes multiple roles to bring about the enhancement of the mentee’s professional, personal, and psychological development.

Sponsorship:

Sponsorship is defined by Biehl as “a relational process in which a mentor having credibility and positional or spiritual authority within an organization or network relates to the mentoree not having those resources so as to enable development of the mentoree and the mentoree’s influence in the organization.”

Keywords: GROOMING THE NEXT GENERATION FOR LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR CONTEMPORARY CHURCH

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