When people hear about our A3 formula...
Christlike leaders + the A3 process + the right time + the right place
= Changing the few who change the many...
they often ask...
What do you mean by the 'A3 Process'?
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| The Essence of A3 involves four outcomes, our model of developing leaders, and long-term sustainability. |
A3's PROCESS:
It's all about leaders:
Find servant leaders,
deepen their love for God,
connect them to each other,
equip them, unify them, release them.
Repeat.
The A3 Leader Development Model brings together 12-18 leaders who meet quarterly over a 2-year period. Intensive, in-service, in-country, in-community, and ongoing. The relationships that develop in the context of this experience provide a network for ongoing collaboration, friendship and development long after the program is completed.
The A3 Process is the Fulcrum
Our process is consistent. It doesn’t move. We can rely on it and trust it. The effort may change or be different, but the process stays the same. The process includes servant leaders going the right approach at the right place and at the right time.
Toward what? We have seen God use this process to release leaders from lies to unity and Kingdom growth, from lies holding the individual back to truth that unites the many. The A3 experience helps leaders move from individual and collective culture to a community orientation.
A3's Contribution: Our Process Detailed
We bring a small cohort of leaders (12-15) through a two-year period of transformation. We gather them for 8 quarterly retreats over those two years. We bring faculty to give them input. They interact with the content together in a learning community. They each determine how they will implement the new concepts into their ministry and lives. Between retreats, they apply what they've learned.
The Learning Cycle
So, over the two-year program, there is a continual learning cycle of...
input + discussion + reflection + application
= discovery
The faculty input is contextualized through group discussion and interaction in pairs. These lessons are then individualized through personal reflection. Time in between sessions serves as a laboratory of application of principles. All of this shapes the leader and provides fertile soil for the Spirit's transformative work.
Near the end of this transformational process, they draft a strategy paper highlighting their key lessons and strategic 3-5 year plan. Then they graduate together and hold each other accountable to their various plans.
What God does is that he uses our contribution to deeply change leaders.
Small is Big
An important factor in the right process is keeping the cohorts small enough to make a big impact in each participant's life. If we enlarged the cohort to more than 15 leaders at a time, we would lose the learning community feel. Participants wouldn't have an opportunity to speak as much in a larger group. We would lose the intimate sharing of lives—the life-on-life mentoring that happens in tight-knit group. Simply put, we would not have the right process.
The A3 Process is a Transformation Experience
When we focus on keeping the process true to its design, we see good results. And God shows up. We see a small group of people changed in the midst of a learning community. First, God changes leaders internally through this process... and then those inner life changes begin impacting those around them.
Leaders are changed from the inside out. But changing the world generally starts with the personal transformation of the leader.
Cultivating an Ecosystem of Kingdom Leaders
And if we faithfully do this over and over and over in various spheres of influence and different places across the globe—focusing on the right process, what we end up cultivating is an ecosystem of kingdom leaders who are following their call and changing the world.
And thus, in collaboration with God's Spirit, we are changing the few who change the many.
A Quick Overview of the A3 Process
- Find servant leaders—who show potential.
- Deepen their love for God.
- Connect them to each other in a learning community for a transformational experience.
- Equip them through input and mentors.
- Unify them over time even though they are diverse.
- Release them.
- Repeat.
More on A3's Process...
SELECT.
> find & identify
A3 selects leaders carefully.
We look for Christ-influencers who would benefit from the A3 experience...
- servant leaders
- leaders with potential, not potential leaders
- optimistic
- bold and energized
- grace-filled
- collaborative
- diverse
- humble and willing to learn.
CONNECT.
> link & bond
A3 connects leaders to live an Up-In-Out lifestyle.
We connect (or reconnect) leaders...
- to God to deepen their love for Him (UP)
- to other leaders to build deep community (IN)
- to their mission to enlarge their vision for the world (OUT)
UNIFY.
> coalesce & cement
A3 unifies individual leaders into a community.
Here are some important ingredients for our recipe...
- Ingredient 1 » Diversity
- Ingredient 2 » Life Journeys Shared
- Ingredient 3 » Group Reflections and Discussions
- Ingredient 4 » Pray Together
- Ingredient 5 » Worship Together
- Ingredient 6 » Meals Together
- Ingredient 7 » Rooming Together
- Ingredient 8 » Play Together
DEVELOP.
> shape & sharpen
A3 is a vibrant community that develops leaders.
Our community is committed to life-long development: being developed personally as well as developing other leaders. We aim to develop:
- more Christ-like pastors to lead the church with vision, character and competence.
- more missional leaders to bring Spirit-led influence to the marketplace
- leaders who are better equipped to lead in countries where Christians are persecuted.
- church leaders who are less likely to drop out of ministry due to burnout or moral failure.
- leaders with the vision to multiply faith communities and accelerate Spirit-led movements that will transform lives.
MULTIPLY.
> reproduce & thrive
A3 is a vibrant community that seeks to multiply.
We are committed to reproduction on all levels:
- Personal Multiplication: We are leaders serving leaders.
- Leaders and Disciples: Develop leaders who reproduce themselves in others—leaders who can multiply disciples.
- Congregations & Churches: We want to develop leaders who multiply churches that impact their communities, reach new believers, and reproduce churches.
- Missional Businesses: We want to inspire entrepreneurs to spawn new missional business endeavors that bring Christ's influence into the marketplace.
TRANSFORM.
> recreate, reshape, & recolor
A3 is a vibrant community of people seeking initially to be personally transformed, but then also to transform our world.
God is the One who transforms. But our responsibility is to cooperate with His Spirit working in us. We strive to submit to His transforming power both personally and corporately. In developing leaders, A3 contributes by creating a safe community. This is an environment that leads to a transformational process in participants and, hopefully, in their world. Transformation—whether it's in a church, a family, a neighborhood, a city, a nation—always begins with transformation in the lives of individuals and then moves outward. Broader change ignites from the transformation of the individual leader, and so that is precisely where A3 focuses its energies.
More Information
- What does Changing the few who change the many" really mean?
- Who are the leaders A3 selects?
- What is the A3 process?
- When is the right time?
- Where is the right place?
Image credit: Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
