- Make it a priority: help everyone discover, develop, and use their spiritual gifts.
- Lead people to learn if they lean toward being an initiator or a nurturer.
- Help Christians recognize that both types of people are important to the church.
- Guide Christians into ministries that fit their roles as an initiator or as a nurturer.
- Recognize that human beings are complex: some are both initiators and nurturers — even though it is rare.
- Understand that some people are initiators for a season, and then God calls them to be nurturers, even though their spiritual gifts may not change.
- Teach that sometimes Christians are not aware of their gifts because they have never experimented with them. As they try different ministries, they may learn new discoveries about their gifts. The same is true about their profile: initiator or nurturer.
- Some areas of church life, such as a staff team or leadership group, are most productive with both initiators and nurturers — as long as they recognize and respect each other’s contributions.
- Effectively transitioning a church led by a church planter requires the discipling of a nurturer and the development of those with the gifts of evangelism and missionary.
- When an initiating church planter stays, an administrative pastor should be discipled into place.
This is excerpted from the March/April Church Doctor Report – How Are You Wired? Initiator or Nurturer?.
Kent Hunter, founder of Church Doctor Ministries, is known as the Church Doctor. His most recent e-books are The Future Is Now and The J-Dog Journey, available at no cost. Contact him at (800) 626-8515, by email, Twitter, Facebook, or visit www.churchdoctor.org.
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