In 1 Timothy 3:15, the church is pictured as God’s household. Those who belong to it are therefore members of God’s family and have something to contribute to its growth. Aside fellowship and Christian formation, nurturing church members to become leaders is a key role of the church. Thus, every new convert must be seen as a potential leader.

Working through small groups is one of the effective ways of developing members to become leaders in the church. This stratified approach affords every member the opportunity to belong to a small group where they will feel comfortable and get involved in church activities.

Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 2:2 told Timothy to entrust what he has heard from him to reliable men who will also teach others. In Luke 10:1, Jesus Christ appointed seventy two of his followers and sent them two by two. In the two examples, we see responsibility being shared so that other members of the church will get involved.

A well-structured way of doing this is through squad formation. It is a small group of nine to ten people with a leader and a task to perform. Members of the squad work in groups of three to four members called teams with each team having a team leader and each member an accountability partner.

With this structure in place, every member has the opportunity to get involved and develop his or her leader skills. It is also an opportunity for team members to learn from one another.

The following are key things to do in squad formation:

o Identify ministry needs of the local church. Example, security, ushering, visitation, evangelism, prayer etc.

o Communicate ministry needs to the church members.

o Give members opportunity to willfully choose where they will want to serve.

o Register them according to ministry needs.

o Train them to equip them for the task that will be assigned.

o Break them into squads of nine or ten members.

o Assign a squad leader to each squad.

o Assign a task.

o The squad leader breaks the squad into teams of three or four and assigns accountability partners.

o The accountability partners report to team leaders who in turn report to the squad leader.

o Squad leader reports to the church leaders.