The Leadership Runway: A Strategy for Ministry Succession, Leadership Transition, and Post-Founder Sustainability

by Steve Murrell

Steve Murrell is the cofounder and president of Every Nation, a global family of churches working in more than 80 nations, and the founding pastor of Victory Church Manila. He holds a Doctor of Ministry degree in Preaching and Leading from Asbury Theological Seminary and wrote his dissertation on succession planning and leadership transition. Steve serves as the Professor of Discipleship and Leadership for Every Nation Seminary. He and his wife, Deborah, have three sons, three daughters-in-law, nine grandchildren, and one Indian Chief Vintage motorcycle.

When he was 57, and after more than thirty years of ministry, Steve returned to school to study post-founder sustainability in the context of global ministry. His research quickly led to the topics of succession planning and leadership succession. He found himself thinking about the 66-year-old founding pastor of a 35-year-old church who feels it is time to "pass the leadership baton" but doesn't know if the designated successor is ready. Or the successor who feels ready but is unsure of what parts of the church structure can be changed and what parts cannot. Or the faithful cross-cultural missionary couple who spent a lifetime developing indigenous leaders who are ready to lead, and it's now time for the couple to move on to the next phase in their ministry assignment. Or the campus ministry regional director who now feels called to plant a church.

No one leads forever, which is a universal truth that cannot be ignored. Steve's three years of dissertation research revealed a three-part pattern in successful leadership transitions. These three requirements are non-negotiable for the ministry leader who wants her ministry to thrive long after her tenure.

Prepare emerging leaders to lead the organization.
Prepare the organization to be led by emerging leaders.
Prepare experienced leaders to finish well.

Steve breaks down these three non-negotiable requirements as he looks at the emerging leader's heart for God and his people, his skills, and his spiritual life. He explores how an experienced leader cultivates a healthy ministry culture and creates simple systems that can continue without her while at the same time putting in place flexibility that can bend and not break as new leaders take the reigns. Finally, Steve speaks to the experienced leader who senses that God is leading him to land his plane and leave his current leadership position while assuring him that his time of purposeful ministry is not over.

Whether you are the experienced leader looking to finish well or the emerging leader looking to step into a new level of leadership, The Leadership Runway will identify steps you can take to help ensure success.

242 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 15, 2023

About the author

Steve is cofounder and president of Every Nation Churches & Ministries, a family of churches focused on church planting, campus ministry, and world mission.

Steve serves on the board of the Real LIFE Foundation, a Christian non-profit with the vision of seeing thousands of marginalized Filipino youth educated, gainfully employed, and uplifting their communities.

After living in the Philippines for twenty-four years, the Murrells now split their time between Manila and Nashville. Their three adult sons were born and raised in the Philippines and now reside in the United States.

When in Nashville, Steve serves on the Bethel Franklin leadership team.