Implementation and Evaluation of a Leadership Mentoring Program in the Hampden Heights Seventh-day Adventist Church

Abstract

Problem Leadership development is a vital but often neglected part of church life. In many churches little is taught on the subject to the current leaders of the church, and even less is done for the development o f future leaders. In addition, the traditional seminar approach, when used, is not always effective in developing church leaders. One program, written by Dr. Dan Reiland, seems to address both o f these problems. Joshua's Men is a spiritual leadership training program using mentoring (discipleship) to grow potential leaders in the church. Is this program effective? Does it develop spiritual leaders in the church? Can it be implemented in a medium-sized congregation? Is the mentoring approach effective? This study evaluates the mentoring program, Joshua's Men, to determine its effectiveness in developing spiritual leaders in the local church. Method The method used to evaluate the effectiveness of the Joshua's Men program was the implementation of the year-long program designed by Reiland and the measurement of the results in the lives of the participants. The study was done with six men from the Hampden Heights Seventh-day Adventist Church in Reading, Pennsylvania. Two simple tools were developed to measure results: interview forms and a monthly survey. Results The results showed the positive effect that the Joshua's Men mentoring program had on men who wanted to further their development in spiritual formation and leadership. The monthly evaluations and interviews revealed that the reading material, monthly presentations, and the units as a whole were helpful. The participants indicated that they were implementing what they had learned in the monthly meetings. This was affirmed in the year-end interviews in which both the men and their wives noted the growth that had occurred as a result of participation in the program. Conclusions Joshua’s Men is an effective program in developing spiritual leaders for the local church. The success of this programs lies in more than just its well-organized and relevant material. The mentoring approach seems to be a key to its success.