Being a mentor is critical kingdom building
Initially, the idea of training your own replacement sounds like an excellent way to work yourself out of a job. However, if we’re honest with ourselves, we all know we’re not irreplaceable. It just feels that way with all the demands for your time and expertise throughout the week.
Despite those concerns, there are practical reasons why training someone else to perform your tasks benefits you and your church. Here are three reasons why it’s wise to train your replacement:
Reason 1: Enables you to see processes from a new perspective
How many years have you been in your current role? If the answer is two or more, you’ve likely developed ways of doing things that make sense to you. Those practices may or may not be the most effective or efficient.
When you take the time to train someone else to perform those functions, he/she may ask questions that force you to reconsider why you do things they way you do. That doesn’t mean you have to make drastic changes right away. However, it’s wise to listen and consider if there’s a better way or to explain why this method is best at this time.
Reason 2: Provides a backup for when you take time off
If you want to take a vacation and be able to unplug from work, you’ll need a backup. Someone has to pay the church’s bills, deposit the tithe, handle insurance questions and more. Those tasks can’t wait a week or so for you to get back.
Having a backup comes in handy in these moments.
Reason 3: Opens up possibilities
Maybe your church is going to launch satellite campuses soon and will need someone to take on a senior leadership role to make that successful. If you’ve already trained someone to handle your current job, you could step into that senior role without much transition time.
As much as we like to plan, sometimes God opens up new opportunities we didn’t expect. Training your replacement now gives you the flexibility to be ready in case He leads you to a different role.
Training your replacement sounds scary at first. However, the benefits of having a reliable backup are well worth overcoming that fear and investing the time into training.
Originally posted Here