1. Let God grow you.

The cruel fact of church leadership is this. You can never lead others to a place you have not yet arrived.  So the challenge will always be, not to learn the newest trend or process, but to become more intimate with God. You don’t want a crowd of babies, but a brigade of warriors begging for a fight!

2. Let God grow others.

One of the hardest lessons I had to learn, as a young leader was that God is the only one that can change someone, I cant! I know it would be super cool to have that power…ZAP> Thou art now a sacrificial giver! Cool, yeah, gonna happen? Not! You do what God has called you to do, and don’t take it personally if people don’t respond the way you expect.

3. Let God grow others through you.

Now, as a leader, it is our calling to hear from & follow God, and challenge others to do the same. So one aspect is this… ALWAYS look for opportunities to replace yourself! You MUST develop leaders around you, if not your church will implode. Not matter how lofty your thoughts are about yourself, you are not the next Rick Warren, or a spiritual machine that can never break down. There will be no greater honor for you as leader, than to replace yourself… Several times over!

4. Let God grow the church.

I remember one point of being so discouraged. I didn’t know why some people weren’t coming, why we weren’t growing as fast as “I thought” we should. God slapped me with these 2 back hands… Jesus said “I will build my church” & “the Lord added to their number daily.” I was quickly reminded this WAS NOT my church. This is Jesus’ church, and He will grow it as He sees fit. My job is to hear and follow Him, like this… “He has told you old man what is required of you, to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with Me.”

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Over the past several months I have had the pleasure of getting to know Artie Davis. Artie is the Lead Pastor at Cornerstone Community Church in Orangeburg, SC. Under his leadership Cornerstone Community Church has exploded in the Orangeburg area revolutionizing the local church culture. He is also the founder of Pray2k, a passionate movement to plant Multi-Ethnic, culturally relevant churches in smaller communities & The Comb Network which equips Multi-Ethnic churches and leaders with tools and resources necessary to reach an ever changing culture.

Thanks Artie for sharing your insights on church growth with us! Make sure you follow him on Twitter for daily insights and to connect with Artie.

Cornerstone has experienced tremendous growth since its birth in 1995 with 35 people. Today the church baptizes between 30-40 people each month, and has an average worship attendance between 1500-1700 people.