Our research over the years have discovered and proved that these three gifts - Power demonstration, leadership and Teaching - are the most crucial in building a healthy church. Therefore, any pastor that desires a virile and vibrant church must be:
30% - A Power Demonstrator
20% - A Teacher
50% - A Leader

A pastor that is only gifted in one or two of these gifts cannot build a healthy church for God. Every Pastor that desire a virile and vibrant church must pray and work these gifts into his or her life and ministry. Let me expatiate more.

1. Power Demonstration
For a long time, many pastors have worked under the wrong notion that it is only Evangelists that should display the supernatural power of God. They therefore shrink from ministering to people in a powerful way for signs and wonders. I hereby want to debunk this claim in totality. Pastors are really the one to display the power of God because they are the one staying with the people, week in, week out. They must have power demona;tration in their ministry if the people must come and stay in the church.

Most times when Guest Speakers come to the church, a lot of people will come as a result of miracles and power demonstration, but they equally disappear after the meetings are over because the local church pastor cannot demonstrate the same power as the Guest Speaker. Well, every Pastor needs to realize that the people will not follow or will stop following when they cannot see the supernatural power of God in the life of the Pastor. Normal or natural pastoring cannot really elicit the confidence of the people in the leadership of the church.

Miracles, deliverance, healings, signs and wonders must be happening in the church. God's power must be in display through the Pastor. God must be confirming His word in the mouth of His servant on regular basis.

" And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God" (I Cor. 2:4-5)."

The demonstration of the power of the Spirit must be an open secret in the church. It is then the faith of the people will be in the power of God and not in the wisdom of men. Divine results, proofs and production must follow your ministry as a Pastor or church leader, they are the zeal of your approval. As the Pastor that stays with the people every week and month, God must work through you to meet their needs, it is then the church will grow powerfully.

2. Teaching
The Pastor must also be a teacher of the word to some appreciable degree. While power demonstration will bring the people, it is teaching that will purge and purify them. Without proper and spirit filled teachings, we cannot have a virile and vibrant church. In churches where the Pastor is not a good teacher of the word, there will be a gross imbalance in the life of the people.

"Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept: line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:" (Isa. 28:9-10).

The word must work wonders in the life of the people. The Pastor must acquire and hone his teaching skills if the church is to be the true disciple of the Lord. An untaught church will always be a carnal, sinful and nominal one, despite mighty power demonstrations.

You must teach the whole counsel of God to the people. You must teach them to be true and godly disciples of the Lord. The teachings must be lively, relevant, practical and useable to their daily lives. As a leader, you must model what you teach before the people will catch it. In reality, truths are easily caught than taught.

3. Leadership
The Pastor or Shepherd must grow to become a leader and acquire the gift and skill to lead very well. You cannot manage or pastor a church to growth, you only lead a church to healthy growth.

Power demonstration and teaching gifts without dynamic leadership will still leave the church grossly imbalanced and incapable of fulfilling her potentials. After the miracles, deliverance, prophecies and healings, the people still need good and godly leadership, if they are to stay and become faithful and genuine disciples of the Lord. Every Pastor must become dynamic and Spirit- filled leader if the church is going to become a virile and vibrant church. Your capacity to lead will determine whether the church will last or not. Your leadership must be dynamic, effective, productive and result-oriented. You must lead them to higher ground of God's power and glory. Under your leadership, people must see marked change, improvement and transformation in their lives. It is then and only then will they follow whole-heartedly.

These are the three spiritual gifts that must be in abundance in the life of every Pastor that wants to do a durable work for the Lord. Much more importantly, the supernatural must be flowing through him, whether he is a Pastor, Teacher or Leader because people naturally follow a leader stronger than them. Once they cannot see anything different in the leader, they will stop following. This is what the people told Joshua:

"And they answered Joshua saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whither soever thou sendest us, we will go. According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we harken unto thee: only the Lord thy ~God be with thee, as he was with Moses" (Joshua 1 .. 16-17).

They were ready to follow, obey and subject ~o the leadership of Joshua as long asthe Lord is with him mightily in miracles, signs and wonders as He was with Moses! They wanted to enjoy God's power during the reign of Joshua as they enjoyed it during the leadership of Moses.

This is a timeless lesson for leaders of every age. People will give you their hands once you can touch their hearts and lives.'

People will always follow a leader that can lead them to victory, both on personal and corporate levels. Once the leader shows that he can solve the people's problems through the supernatural power of God, the people will not hesitate to follow.

So long you are a called leader in the vineyard of the Lord, you must seek for the sign and seal of approval to your ministry. God must continually prove that He is the one that called you. That was what He did for our Lord Jesus Christ throughout His earthly ministry. Miracles, signs and wonders approved Him.

I make bold to say that God must continually show the seal of approval of your ministry by life-changing testimonies, transformations, healings, deliverance, growth, turnaround, increase and expansion both physical, spiritually, materially and financially. It is then and only then that you are qualified to lead in the 21st century church.

True leadership in the church of today is not for the personal enrichment of the leader, but the blessing, edification, transformation and betterment of the people. As you read this book with heart, get ready to become a truly supernatural leader!

Becoming a supernatural leader means God must do things that magnify your calling and confirm your genuineness to the people. God must so work that people will respect the anointing and hand of God upon your life. God must do some spectacular and stupendous signs and wonders that will show His presence and power with you.
Joshua 3: 7 says:
"And the LORD said unto Joshua, this day willi begin to magnify thee in the sight of aI/Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee".

God must magnify the leader through His power and wonders in the sight of the people. The people must respect and trust the leader as a result of God's approval by signs
and wonders.

 

* Dr. Bola Akin John is a Church growth expert. You can reach him and or buy this book at his website: http://www.churchgrowthafrica.org