Everyone wants their ministry to grow, but leaders are often unprepared to address the problems that growth can bring. The apostles in Acts model how to handle the growing pains by addressing problems head-on and empowering new leaders.

Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. (Acts 6:1–7)

Things don’t magically get better when your ministry grows.

I was 19, new to church leadership, and co-leading a home group of student and young adults. One summer month we grew from 25 to 55 students participating and being discipled. There were not enough rooms in the home for the multiple small groups within the home group. Jesus was building his church, and we had outgrown our home. What should we do? As a young leader, all I knew to do was go to Scripture.

Rapid growth and growing pains

In the early days of the first-century Christian church, the church was rapidly expanding. It grew from 120 people meeting in the upper room after the Ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:15) to over 3,000 after Peter’s sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2:41). Many more were added later through small groups meeting in homes (Acts 2:47) resulting in a count of 5,000 men (Acts 4:4) before Peter and John preached before the Jewish leaders, so the church had grown to well over 10,000 people in a short time.

Things don’t magically get better when your ministry grows.

As the church grew, it increasingly became more diverse. Jews from Jerusalem, who spoke Hebrew, and Jews born outside Jerusalem, who spoke Greek (Hellenists) both joined this urban Jerusalem church.

The problem was, the Greek-speaking Jews started to notice that their widows were being neglected, so they complained to the Hebrew-speaking Jews overseeing care. It was likely a communication issue, in which the leaders did not understand the needs of the Greek-speaking widows. It’s not a massive problem, but it is the first time there is recorded friction among a highly unified church. What can we learn about leadership from the men leading the first church?

1. Leaders address problems

The leaders of the church heard of the situation, gathered the church, and responded by addressing the problem. They too were involved in taking care of the poor, so as the church grew they struggled with not enough time and too many responsibilities.

Can you relate? These leaders could have given more time to the needy, but it would have come at the expense of their pastoral duties of prayer and studying Scripture. It was still important to care for those in need among them, so they made the decision that more leaders were required. In short, they expanded the leadership to make sure the church was properly cared for.

2. Leaders empower others

The apostles made the decision to empower others, and that’s what leaders are supposed to do. Ephesians 4:12 says that leaders are to “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” Churches are served well when their leaders empower others to step into leadership for the benefit of the people they lead.

The apostles expanded the leadership to make sure the church was properly cared for.

Churches should be focused on expanding the kingdom of God by empowering, training, and releasing the next generation of leaders. This won’t happen if there are people in leadership clinging to their position or role. The church needs to continue to follow the examples of the apostles by empowering others.

3. Leaders expand leadership

The apostles looked for qualified men with good reputations who were full of the Spirit, spiritual gifts, and practical wisdom. Of the seven named, most are Greek-speaking Jews, and there is even a newer Christian in Nicolaus. Churches should lead people to Christ, disciple them well, mature them in character, and raise them up to lead the church.

Churches do not need superstars in ministry, just faithful servants. Recommendations were made, but the apostles appointed them to leadership by laying on hands, praying for them, and commissioning them to ministry. These new leaders were given real responsibility, over a real area of need, resulting in a real opportunity to lead.

In Acts, the early church continued to grow, in spite of persecution (Acts 5:41), sin (Acts 5:11) and conflict (Acts 6:1). Inevitably, more problems arose, additional people were empowered, and more leaders were trained to lead this dynamic church. It was a good problem to have as more people started to follow Jesus. As a church or ministry grows, matures, and changes, this cycle will always continue. That’s a good thing.