Empowering Local Leaders - Part 3

Empowering Local Leaders — A Strategic Way to Build the Kingdom (Part 3)

In March 2023, I went to Nosy-Be, Madagascar, to visit a village called Ambatozavavy. There, I experienced how powerful it is to empower local leaders. The leaders in that community wake up early and work the harvest for many hours. Then, they still have to find time to serve as guides at an Eco-Park near the village in order to support their families. Even so, they are committed to faithfully serving Jesus, setting aside time for ministry!

I saw a striking contrast when I observed their reality and compared it to our Western culture. We receive a salary and sit in a comfortable chair, with fabulous headphones and noise cancellation to help us focus. We even choose from many different kinds of mugs to enjoy our coffee!

At Lead by the Name, we simplify the common Western mission strategy by empowering local leaders to serve with the gifts God has given them. The common Western strategy of sending missionaries is more expensive, takes longer, and is often unnecessary. We have found that local leaders are capable of effective ministry when they are given the opportunity.

Sometimes, in the Western mind, we feel that we are more "capable," but we would suggest that it is more about opportunity than capability. If local leaders had the same opportunities, what would they do?

One example is Spoken Worldwide (www.spoken.org), a ministry focused on oral peoples — cultures that communicate orally rather than through the written word. Spoken Worldwide empowers local leaders to translate the Bible into their own language using an oral translation that speaks to their hearts. Local leaders lead the projects. Spoken serves them by providing the "comfortable chair" opportunities — consultants (the books of oral culture), salaries, tools, etc.

Empowering local leaders is the way forward! They can do the work and are better equipped to minister in their own culture. We still need people going overseas, but that is not the only or primary option. It is time to empower local leaders — with funding and salaries, training and tools. We can walk alongside them (not ahead of them) and serve them.