Any large global ministry needs different kinds of leaders around the world. In KKI, we have local leaders, who head up the ministry in a specific town or city. Then we have national leaders who coordinate the work within their whole nation, and we have regional leaders who oversee the work in a group of nations or even a whole continent. Often, the regional leadership is not carried by just one person, but is facilitated by a team of three or more people, such as the European KKI Leadership team that I'm currently part of.
In addition to these geographical roles, there are people who carry roles specific to a particular kind of ministry expression, heading up small task forces of people with a similar passion and calling. We call these little groups "circles" and they exist at national, regional and international levels. For example, I've been heading up the international training circle that seeks to serve the whole area of youth ministry training and leadership development. Others oversee circles relating to intercession, to ministry with families, or to mobilising for short term missions.
And finally, seeking to serve those in geographical leadership or circle leadership, we've had an international leadership team (ILT) mainly made up of leaders representing their region or circle in a more international leadership group. In recent years, the ILT group has grown to be nearly 25 people (and within it, we had a small core leadership team, the CLT, of five people.) It was great to have representation from all over the world, and we all counted the ILT members among our dear friends, but we realised that this wasn't a very effective way of giving leadership and making decisions. So, that's what prompted this recent restructuring process, that we've been working on for the past year or so.
As mentioned in my post of 13th March, our ILT is now a smaller group of only ten people, and the former core leadership team no longer exists. Others in the former ILT group sensed God's calling to focus more on their regional leadership than on carrying the international, and some felt they'd reached a stage of life where having some kind of "eldership" and supporting role was more appropriate for them.
So what about my own decision? Perhaps surprisingly, it didn't seem so obvious to me. When I prayed, the main thing I felt God saying to me was that it wasn't about title or position, but was about being in the role where I, where each one of us, could make our "best contribution." I had a sense that perhaps my international circle role in the area of training and leadership development was the best place for me to serve (it links with my role in the University of the Nations) and is an area that needs strengthening and development. I do serve on the European regional leadership team, too, so I thought that perhaps I might not really be needed in the new ILT. But when I shared this thought with some others, a number of leaders that I respect expressed their opinion that I have an important contribution to make in this transition time, and that it would be valuable to have me in the ILT, at least for the next couple of years.
So yes, I find myself part of the new ILT, and look forward to working more closely with this team of ten leaders from around the world. Looking ahead already to our next ILT meeting in March 2 017, there's even a possibility that I might host it here in Malaga. (Other options are Barcelona or England; we haven't made the decision yet.)
Thanks for your prayers for me and for all of us as we were seeking the Lord and processing our decisions about these new leadership roles.
