Identifying the Next Wave of Newlife Campus Leaders

Abstract

I will be utilizing qualitative research to identify characteristics Newlife church is looking for in future church or campus planters. The research will be “emergent,” meaning “the initial plan for research cannot be tightly prescribed, and all phases of the process may change or shift after the researcher enters the field and begins to collect the data.”1 Finding the right leader to start a church is highly subjective. The qualitative approach allows us to admit up front that the culture of a given area, and the type of organization, play as big of part in the success of a given leader's fruitfulness as does their own personality and ability. This paper will answer the question: What are the distinct characteristics of a campus planter at Newlife? To determine the types of leaders Newlife is looking for an interview and questionnaire were given to the five current campus planters. The assessments measure church planting, entrepreneurial leadership, ministry experience, and relational evangelism. The interview was designed to identify key traits in campus planters as well as what they felt was a contributor to the success or failure of their campus.