Leadership Development - Introduction to Our 2026 Series

This is Chuck Rapp with Multiply, a podcast to provide a word of encouragement for village church planters and leaders. 

Our topic for 2025 was steward leadership, and today we launch into 2026 with a new series on Leadership Development. This year’s theme was prompted by a conversation I had in early December at a Coalition of the Willing meeting in Lome. 

I was asked by JJ, the leader of the Coalition of the Willing work, “what would it take for VCP to double in the next 5 years?”  That was a great question; one that I pondered for a few moments. 

It believe it was the Lord who quickly brought to my realization that VCP already HAS doubled in the past 5 years. Pre-Covid, VCP had about 350 training centers in 19 countries; today we are working in 36 nations with nearly 900 training centers. We praise God for this growth. 

To return to JJ’s insightful question, the Lord showed me that our limitation is not funds. The Lord has repeatedly demonstrated His provision to us. 

I believe that our current limitation to further growth lies with the need to identify, raise up, equip and empower more leaders. We need more VCP trainers, coordinators and supervisors. We need more Church Multiplication Facilitators and support personnel in the US. We need more skilled mapping technicians in Africa, and we need more African and western project managers. Undergirding all this, we need more pray-ers. 

Consequently, in 2026, this podcast series will be devoted to Leadership Development.  Supervisors and coordinators, I am speaking to you right now. I need your help translating and passing along these episodes to those whom you are leading.

I would also ask you to be intentional in your efforts to identify, equip, mentor, empower and release emerging leaders. Here is an important principle to consider. Leaders, until you have prepared someone to succeed you, you cannot be considered for promotion. I want to repeat that. Leaders, until you have identified and prepared a successor, you won’t be promoted; you are still the only person capable of performing your current role. 

I will close this episode with Jesus’s view of leadership from Matthew 20:25-28. Godly leaders are called to serve those whom we lead. 

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters and leaders.