DESIGN

The local Church needs leaders. Ask any Pastor of a growing church what their greatest need is and the answer will almost always be "leaders". Not just people with the ability to rally the troops to accomplish a task but 2 Timothy 2:15 leaders.

• Who are approved by God
• Workers who don't need to be ashamed
• Who correctly handle the word of truth

We need people who have more than just leadership abilities, outgoing personalities, natural talent, or divine giftings. None of these things on their own are the mark of a good leader. In fact, the church has a history of following people for their abilities, personalities, and talents at great cost.

What the Church needs are people, ordinary people, who feel called to present themselves to God for His approval and purpose. Men and women who will put time and work into understanding the word of God. They may not be the most gifted or the most naturally talented, but they are approved by God because they are workers who correctly handle the word of truth. CVSOM is not a school for superstar leaders who shine bright and burn out. We've all had enough of those. CVSOM is for the every day, hand-to-the-plow-not-looking-back type leaders. Those whose hearts say "I will follow Jesus" and their feet are already moving. CVSOM is designed for ordinary people called by God to do extraordinary things, just like Abraham, Moses, David, Ruth, Mary, Joseph, and every one of the disciples.

Leader Development and Retention

The local church needs leaders from the local church. These are the people who are already ministering where God has called them. CVSOM is designed to keep people where they are while they are being equipped. All too often we see developing leaders leave their ministry context to seek out education and equipping. In the process of becoming "professional ministers," they find other places to serve and practice their gifts, or they are recruited away from the place they originally felt called. CVSOM is designed to assist churches in on-the-job training. The mentoring component of the school is meant to engage developing leaders right where they are. In this way, we help local leaders find places to thrive in their local context rather than smaller local churches becoming "feeder organizations" providing leaders for larger churches or organizations with bigger budgets in other areas.

Local Values and Culture

Another advantage of the CVSOM structure is its ability to raise up leaders from within a local culture rather than removing them from it for training. The work of the Kingdom can be seriously impeded if the values and culture of a community are not taken into consideration. Removing students from their ministry context can limit their ability to apply the truth of God they are learning directly to that very context. We have found that students in CVSOM make immediate and direct connections between the cultures and communities in which they serve and the truth of God they are learning.

Catching the Value

One value that is modeled in our structure is Ministry Mentoring. Every student is required to have a mentor they meet with every two weeks for spiritual formation, development, and accountability. Kingdom multiplication through disciple-making disciples is a difficult concept to miss when studying the new testament. In our experience, a value for making disciples is "caught" more than "taught". We do our best to help our students "catch the value" of mentoring others in ministry by connecting them with quality mentors in their church. When Pastors and Church leaders partner with CVSOM to be Ministry Mentors through the 9-month ministry certificate program, the impact on the student can be life-changing.

Mentoring By-Product

But it's not just the student whose life is impacted by Mentoring. The Pastor or church leader who is doing the mentoring is impacted as well. Ministry Mentoring is a strategic effort by CVSOM to engage church leaders in a sustained mentoring relationship that directly helps them grow their ministry through multiplication. All too often Pastors are so caught up in "doing the work" that they don't realize they are doing the work alone. Again, making disciples is a value that is "caught" more effectively than it is "taught". Many Pastors teach about making disciples while never actually engaging in that fruitful and life-giving work themselves. CVSOM helps Pastors re-connect with disciple-making in a rewarding and meaningful way. We offer support and direction to our Ministry Mentors and accountability along the way. Pastors typically feel some weight lifted off their shoulders as the people they mentor take on ministry roles in the church as part of the mentoring program.

Flexibility

One of the great advantages of the school being hosted by local churches is flexibility. There is no one school location or building. CVSOM can be wherever the Church needs it to be from year to year and even class to class. With so much local support there has never been a time when the school suffered from a lack of facilities. Each year the school can be hosted and/or administrated by a different partner church without losing its core values, structure, mission, vision, or purpose. If the current host church enters into a building or remodeling project, the school will simply relocate to a partner church facility. If the administrating Church is unable to continue, those roles can be transferred to a partner church during the summer before the next school year begins.

Adaptability

CVSOM has the unique ability to respond reflexively to the changing needs of the church. Currently, 100% of the teachers and staff of CVSOM serve as leaders in local churches. This boots-on-the-ground leadership structure means the school is always naturally adapting to meet the very real ministry needs that are happening right now. On a classroom scale, issues of the day are incorporated into the curriculum naturally as topics come up in the course of discussion. On a larger school scale, classes and curriculum can be augmented and adapted, as well as new classes added, to ensure we are always doing our best to properly equip leaders.