Church Design

Aspen Group Blog

Knowledge to navigate the intersection of church culture, leadership, ministry, and facilities.

Patrick O'Connell

Patrick O'Connell is the Global Director of NewThing, a catalyst for movements of reproducing churches. He is passionate about helping people start new things for the Kingdom. He's married to Nancy and they have three great kids. He likes to run, read and hangout with friends.

Blog Feature

Leadership | Communication

The 5 Steps of Leadership Development

By: Patrick O'Connell
October 29, 2020

Leadership development may often be perceived as vague, time-consuming, or intimidating. In reality, it doesn’t have to be complicated. Using “Tony” as my fictional example, here is a proven, five-step mentorship/apprenticeship model that can be used to develop new leaders in church ministry.

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Leadership

How We Fill Our Leader Pipeline

By: Patrick O'Connell
August 29, 2018

In previous posts I’ve shared a lot about the leadership path and the simple tools that we give leaders to help them through the path (The Five Steps of Leadership Development, B.L.E.S.S. and 6 Coaching Questions). Now I want to talk specifically about the leadership pipeline.

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Making Space for Millennials Executive Summary

Making Space for Millennials Executive Summary

Discover the impact Millennials' values, allegiances, and assumptions will have on your church.

Blog Feature

Leadership

6 Coaching Questions to Develop New Leaders in Your Church

By: Patrick O'Connell
May 30, 2018

When I shared "The Five Steps of Leadership Development," you may remember numbers 1-4 ended with “We talk.” People always ask, “What do we talk about? What do I talk to these leaders about?” Let’s walk through six simple questions to go through in a coaching relationship with new church leaders. I’ll use Tony as my apprentice example.

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Leadership | church planting

Mentoring New Leaders Like Jesus

By: Patrick O'Connell
January 18, 2018

I can’t stress enough how important it is to set expectations for leaders. Say I’m a small group leader, and I'm hearing over and over that I need to have an apprentice who I’m investing in. The expectation is that I need to reproduce my group. Say I identified Tony as my apprentice because he’s demonstrated the three characteristics I’m looking for—teachability, spiritual velocity, relational intelligence.

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Leadership

How to Empower Leaders at Church

By: Patrick O'Connell
December 14, 2017

Strong leadership in your church is desirable. You want leaders. But how do you actually empower these leaders at your church? Whether you are grooming new leaders or looking to vitalize current ones, here is a simple tool that looks at how to empower the leaders in your church or at your sites to actually go out and do the things you’re looking for them to do.

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Leadership | Multisite | church planting

Creating a Leadership Path for Ministry Growth

By: Patrick O'Connell
August 30, 2017

The right kind of leadership is critical to the success of a church or ministry. In order for leadership to be successful, you need both a leadership pipeline and a leadership path. Let’s discuss the difference.

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Leadership

3 Ways to Spot a Great Leader

By: Patrick O'Connell
July 13, 2017

It can be challenging to find excellent leaders. Here are three characteristics I look for to spot a great leader, plus which qualifications and traits are necessary and which are not.

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Blog Feature

Leadership | Multisite | Church Culture

Pastors: How to Fill Your Ministry Pipeline with New Leaders

By: Patrick O'Connell
May 25, 2017

Where do you get leaders? It’s a question I’m asked all the time and one you’ve probably wondered about. Do they just walk in off the street? Does God deliver them to our doorstep? Am I looking for them? Do I need to be looking for them in a certain way?

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Leadership | Multisite

A Model for Creating a Pipeline of Leaders

By: Patrick O'Connell
March 15, 2017

New churches help new people find a way back to God. So starting new churches and new sites is a good thing. But if you want to plant more churches and sites, you need to be thinking about leadership development.

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Blog Feature

Culture | Leadership

Why You Need Both a Leadership Path and a Leadership Pipeline

By: Patrick O'Connell
November 09, 2016

Is there any question that Jesus started a movement? "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

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