Succession or Multiplication?: Transitioning a Movement to Next Generation Leadership

By David Devenish

How do you transition from a first generation movement under one founder leader to becoming a second generation movement with a multiple leadership?

This question has now become a particular challenge for many fresh movements of churches, and it can prove to be a difficult and daunting one. David Devenish tells the story of how Newfrontiers tackled this issue, and how they successfully transitioned to next generation leadership through multiplication of leadership teams rather than appointing a successor, while still maintaining ministry accountability.

Combining practical lessons with academic study, Devenish brings a wealth of experience, insight, and guidance that will prove invaluable to other movements embarking on a similar journey.

Content Benefits:

The issue of leadership succession has become a particular challenge for many fresh movements of churches which started as a result of the faith step of a particular founder, and who are now having to move to the next generation of leadership, whilst maintaining the same demonstration of missional and charismatic life. In this book you will learn practical lessons to transition from a first generation movement under one founder leader to becoming a second generation movement with a multiple leadership.

- Many new church movements are now approaching this challenge and this book provides help and advice on how to deal with this
- Transitioning leadership can be difficult and this book helps find a way through based on experience
- Provides practical lessons that can be used by other movements
- Draws on academic studies of movements within the Christian world
- Offers a robust theology for this emerging issue
- Applicable to all new church streams and movements, or churches pioneered by one founder
- Recounts the recent history of Newfrontiers
- Continues the story of Newfrontiers started in No Well-Worn Paths by Terry Virgo
- Ideal for any one looking at leadership in the church
- Author is a respected church leader with many years of experience in ministry and apostolic teams

• Language: English
• Publisher: Authentic Media
• Release date: Oct 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781788931557

David Devenish

David Devenish leads Woodside Church in Bedford, England. He is developing relationships with many churches in Russia and Ukraine as well as encouraging church planting in some of the largely unreached parts of the world. He has written 'Demolishing Strongholds' and the recently published 'Setting People Free' and has developed several courses.

Book preview

Succession or Multiplication? : Transitioning a Movement to Next Generation Leadership by David Devenish

‘Too often churches, movements and families of churches do not make it to the next generation. David outlines extremely helpful principles around succession which have guided Newfrontiers through transition during the last decade. Read it, take notes and, when the time comes, apply these principles to your field of leadership.’

Steve Tibbert, King’s Church London

‘All responsible leaders think about succession regularly, and plan for it. Here we have an account of a family of churches who sought to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in succession that assures growth, not organizational tidiness. The story is a great encouragement to many of us who work in similar ways also to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, and to be provoked to think of multiplication and growth as dynamics of God’s kingdom. Telling the story in a very transparent style, without trying to cover up possible mistakes, David gives us the inside view of these transitions. A must read, full of wisdom and instruction, for all of us who work in similar church networks and families of churches!’

Steve Thomas, International Team leader, Salt & Light Ministries

‘This is the story of the last ten years of Newfrontiers. It is a story of adventure, risk and remarkable multiplication. It is a story that will help birth other such stories. Whether you are familiar with Newfrontiers or not, you will be directly helped by David’s writing on many leadership issues, including accountability, global contextualization, and apostolic ministry.’

P J Smyth, Senior Pastor of Monument Church, Washington DC, and team leader, Advance

‘There aren’t many people who know more about multiplying apostolic movements than David Devenish. His wisdom and insights have shaped churches all over the world, and I am so glad that he has written this book to share some of the lessons he has learned along the way.’

Andrew Wilson, Teaching Pastor, King’s Church London

‘From the closing of Stoneleigh Bible week to the present day, David has provided a thorough and faithful report on the multiplication taking place in Newfrontiers. While precious values have been retained, adjustments have been enthusiastically embraced for maximum global fruitfulness.’

Terry Virgo, Founder, Newfrontiers

‘Simply one of the most incredible things I’ve read on passing on leadership; it’s groundbreaking – and biblical! Instead of building an institution, this expands movement. Why is this not standard practice? Who ever thought about multiplying apostolic leadership in a strategic way, and can you imagine the impact of it?’

Bob Roberts, Global Senior Pastor Northwood Church, Dallas, Founder Glocalnet

‘I’ve followed the fortunes of the New Frontiers movement and their founder Terry Virgo for over thirty years. The role of a founder is to embody the heart and soul of a movement and then set that movement free to achieve its calling. That’s what Terry Virgo has done. Rather than anoint a single successor, Terry and the New Frontiers movement chose multiplication instead. In Succession or Multiplication? David Devenish tells the story of this transition. His account is full of lessons on leadership and organizational development, but what shines through is the application of biblical principles, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, resulting in Kingdom advance. Lessons for leaders who want to fulfil God’s purposes in their generation.’

Steve Addison, author and co-leader of Move

‘David Devenish has achieved a remarkable feat. He has taken the complexity of a leadership transition and made it a readable and essential study for all looking for a life-giving change of leadership that reflects the New Frontiers International story. There was such bravery on the part of Terry Virgo and the Newfrontiers leaders as they chose multiplication over succession. This must-read book offers a rare insight into the road less travelled but it is done with humility, Spirit sensitivity, collaboration and a commitment to give the next generation an adventure worth diving into. Great job.’

Chris Wienand, Genesis Collective, Costa Mesa, California

‘The story and history of Newfrontiers reads like a continuation of the book of Acts. On helpful display here is what happens when a movement is prophetic at birth, biblical at root, passionate in missions, and generational in its thinking. Few have achieved success in transitions of movements. Many will be grateful for cumulative lessons documented in the on-going journey of this relentless movement.’

Pastor Tope Koleoso, Jubilee Church London

Succession or Multiplication?

Transitioning a Movement to Next Generation Leadership

David Devenish

Copyright © 2020 David Devenish

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First published 2020 by Authentic Media Limited,

PO Box 6326, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, MK1 9GG.

authenticmedia.co.uk

The right of David Devenish to be identified as the Author of this Work

has been asserted by him in accordance with the

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored

in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,

electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without

the prior permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted

copying. In the UK such licences are issued by the Copyright Licensing

Agency, 5th Floor, Shackleton House, 4 Battle Bridge Lane, London SE1 2HX.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978-1-78893-154-0

978-1-78893-155-7 (e-book)

Cover design by Ezekiel

Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY

Copyright Acknowledgements

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked ESV taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked JBP taken from The New Testament in Modern English by J.B. Phillips copyright © 1960, 1972 J.B. Phillips. Administered by the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations noted KJV taken from the Authorized (King James) Version. Rights in the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.

Scripture quotations marked NASB taken from the New American Standard Bible® copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

Scripture quotations marked NEB taken from the New English Bible, copyright © Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press 1961, 1970. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIVUK taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. NIV is a registered trademark of Biblica UK trademark number 1448790.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV taken from the New King James Version® Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Contents

Foreword by John Mumford

Acknowledgements

1Why This Book?

2Pruning Leads to Growth

3Foundational Developments 2001–11

4Training for Apostolic Ministry

5Succession Becomes an Issue

6The Way Ahead

7The Big Moment in the History of a Movement – Brighton 2011

8The Early Years after Transition – Release and Pain

9The New Definition of a Movement

Appendix to Chapter 9

10 Movements and Transition – A Wider View

11 Contextualization for a Global Movement

12 Continued Multiplication of Apostolic Ministry

13 The Need for Accountability

14 A Vision for Continued Togetherness

15 Best Practices for Working Together

16 Coaching Apostolic Teams

17 Transition Issues in Local Churches

18 We Will All Transition!

Notes

Foreword

Eleanor and I have been devoted members of the Newfrontiers fan club for many decades, having first encountered them in the mid-1980s, when John Wimber was criss-crossing the United Kingdom in that season of numerous Vineyard conferences.

We have long admired the Newfrontiers movement, held Terry and Wendy Virgo and their team in the highest esteem, and always counted many of its leaders as friends. Needless to say, we have ourselves learned a great deal from them over the years, for which we are deeply grateful.

We all know that transitions in both churches and church movements present a formidable challenge, with their unique blend of profound gratitude for what’s gone before, inevitable grief that’s attached to the end of an era, natural apprehension regarding imminent change, as well as deep excitement as to what lies ahead.

Here, in Succession or Multiplication? Transitioning a Movement to Next Generation Leadership, David offers us a thorough and fascinating insight – at what was a pivotal moment in their history – into their thinking, their vision and their values, not least in recounting both the blessings and the buffetings they have encountered in their journey over the past decade.

Our initial inclination was to hold our breath somewhat when we discovered the bold – and novel – approach Terry and his team were deploying in handing over to the next generation. So now we rejoice at God’s ongoing favour, and the blessing that the movement continues to enjoy.

John Mumford

Co-ordinator of the Vineyard International Executive

Acknowledgements

I first want to thank my PA, Sue Dicks, for ‘going the extra mile’ in typing up and putting together the many drafts of this manuscript. I am also, once again, very grateful to Jane Sanders for her invaluable and perceptive comments on the manuscript. I am so grateful as well for my wife, Scilla, for her tolerance of the time spent bringing this project together.

Thanks to Steve Tibbert, David Holden and Maurice Nightingale for their thoughts having read the draft of the book. The responsibility for the final outcome, however, rests only with me. Thanks too to the team at Authentic Media for supporting this project and for their help bringing it to fruition. The Newfrontiers trustees kindly granted me a two-month sabbatical for completing the research and the first draft of this book. My first ever sabbatical!

Thank you, Terry Virgo, for mentoring so many of us into the vision for the restoration of the church to its New Testament ethos and encouraging us all in our mission together.

The Newfrontiers Together Team, which I have had the privilege of leading for the past eight years, originally suggested that I write this successor to Terry Virgo’s book, No Well-worn Paths. So, thank you for being such a great team to serve with.

1

Why This Book?

It was July 2008 and the Newfrontiers family of churches were holding their annual leadership conference at Brighton Conference Centre, UK. Around four thousand leaders were gathered, the majority from the UK but a good proportion from many other nations. The guest speaker on this occasion was Mark Driscoll from Seattle, USA. Mark was known to be a somewhat controversial speaker but one of the hallmarks of Newfrontiers at our various conferences over the years had been to benefit from those outside of the movement who would bring something distinctive from which we could learn.

Mark’s first two messages were relatively uncontroversial but then his third message was an overview of movements within the Christian church, where they had succeeded and where they had failed. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, he referred to Newfrontiers and raised the question to all in the hall, ‘Does this movement value the founder more than the future, or the future more than the founder?’ You can imagine the hush in the room at this point. Mark then made it clear that this was no mere rhetorical question, and invited the audience to put their hands up as to who thought that the movement valued the founder the most and who the future. Terry Virgo, who had founded the Newfrontiers movement, had no idea that this challenge was going to be given. Indeed, my wife, Scilla, Terry’s wife, Wendy, and some of the other leaders’ wives had ‘skipped’ that session to spend some time together at Terry and Wendy’s house and so missed the whole event. I was sitting on the front row, as part of the leadership team of the movement, and was too embarrassed to turn around to see what proportion thought we valued the founder more than the future, but I gathered that this was the majority.

We will return to this scene in chapter 5, but it was one of the events which led to what became a very interesting journey; the transition from being a first-generation movement under one founder leader to becoming a second-generation movement with multiple leadership. That is the journey described in this book.

No Well-worn Paths

Terry Virgo’s own story and the early development of Newfrontiers as a family of churches have been set out in his book, No Well-worn Paths. This title, as Terry explains in the book, was based on a prophetic word which stimulated the formation of the Newfrontiers family of churches:

I saw a herd of elephants running together towards a jungle. The way ahead looked totally impenetrable, but the elephants kept running forward and burst through the undergrowth, making a way where there was no way. Their combined strength broke through and a path was formed that others could subsequently use. The opening words of his prophecy were, ‘There are no well-worn paths ahead of you,’ and it continued, ‘Together you can accomplish more than you could ever accomplish alone.’1

Terry’s book described his personal story and the history of the movement he founded, up to the time when we made a decision, as a team, to close the Stoneleigh Bible Week for which Newfrontiers was well known and which gathered around twenty-seven thousand in 2001, its final year. ‘So why on earth did we stop Stoneleigh? Simply, because we really believe that God told us to. If I had made a decision based on weighing up the pros and cons I would never have reached that conclusion, but God impressed his will upon us in such a way as to leave us in no doubt.’2

The purpose of this book is to explain what has happened to a growing movement since that time. Terry’s book, No Well-worn Paths, was sub-titled ‘one man’s journey’ – a journey that started with the story of how one man, Terry Virgo himself, heard and obeyed God, which eventually resulted in the formation of an international family of churches. This principle is consistent both with how God worked in Scripture and with what has happened with moves of God in church history. So, for example, Abraham heard and obeyed God; the promise to him was that a family would be formed, and this family would bless the families of the earth. David was anointed by God, had to flee because of the anger of Saul, and found himself the central figure of a movement, based at first in the cave of Adullam. ‘Then others began coming – men who were in trouble or in debt or who were