As we step into 2025, every year I ask the Lord to give me a word to act not as a map but a compass bearing for what’s ahead. Last year it was the year of Transformation – still ongoing I know! Recent years are marked by profound change and regrowth at Ivy Church, underpinned by that theme word.
But this year, God has given us a new mandate: EXPANSION.
In a time when many churches face closures and challenges, we stand poised in faith for something better and greater as the Kingdom of God advances. He is calling us to stretch wider, dig deeper, and expand beyond what we have yet experienced or ever imagined. Here’s how this vision will inspire and shape my own leadership in 2025 and I invite you to consider it too (You can check the talk I did on this on the Ivy website and subscribe to the podcast to take it further with us in the weeks ahead).
The Call to Expansion: What It Means for Leaders
In Isaiah 54:2-4, our theme verse for the year, God challenges us to “enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back.” This isn’t just a poetic metaphor—it’s a direct call to action.
For leaders, it means:
- Excavate Deeper: Strengthen the foundation of your faith and leadership. Spend intentional time in prayer, scripture, and personal growth. Deep roots yield enduring impact and enable you to weather the inevitable storms and seasonal shifts.
- Extend Wider: Broaden your influence and reach. Look beyond your immediate context and ask, “Who else can I serve? Where else can I lead?” The eyes of the Lord range to and fro looking for a heart like that.
- Think Generationally: Invest in the next wave of leaders. The impact of our work today will ripple across generations. Isaiah’s promise was long range and future focused in impact.
The Leadership Framework for Expansion
1. Believe and Position Yourself
Expansion starts with belief—not in yourself, but in God’s ability to use you. Position yourself to receive His guidance and act on it. This might mean embracing discomfort, adapting strategies, or stepping into roles you’ve never considered before. Fasting, solicitude, journalling, discussing with others is all part of that positioning to receive, believe and act.
2. Develop Others
Leadership is about empowering others. At Ivy, we’ve seen this through our commitment to raising up preachers, service hosts, and ministry leaders and I will be doing more coaching than ever this year in various ways for those who reach out to invite me to help you grow. Could you consider offering more training, mentorship, or opportunities for others to grow in their unique calling this year? Especially let’s lean into befriending and cross-mentoring (learning from while teaching) Gen Z leaders.
3. Embrace Digital Ministry
While some churches stepped away from online platforms they were forced onto post-COVID, we’ve leaned into them. Digital ministry isn’t just an add-on; it’s a lifeline that connects us personally with those who can’t attend in person, expands our reach globally, and ensures consistency in our messaging across turbulent times.
A Year of SHAPE and Purpose
To lead effectively in 2025, understanding your unique SHAPE is essential and as I have connected with Living On The Edge as part of their International team I have learned from Pastor Dave Holden who worked with Rick Warren how vital it is that every member becomes a minister by knowing their :
- S – Spiritual Gifts: Identify the unique gifts God has given you to serve others. What are you equipped to do that aligns with His purpose? What are you gifted to do?
- H – Heart: What do you love to do? Leading from the heart ensures energy and authenticity.
- A – Abilities: What are you good at doing? Use your natural talents and vocational skills for God’s glory.
- P – Personality: What are you made to do – because you’re different! Your temperament and preferences help you lead in ways that feel authentic and sustainable.
- E – Experiences: What have you learned to do that you can teach others to do too? Draw on life’s highs and lows to empathise, guide, and inspire. God does not want to waste a tear, trial or triumph!
Why Expansion Matters in 2025
In 2025, while the world and the devil try to push us to play small and shrink back, God is challenging us not to hold back but to stretch out. As leaders, this requires pressing in with boldness, faith, and a willingness to embrace change. Whether it’s through prayer, community-building, or embracing new challenges, expansion is about stepping into God’s bigger plans.
You are not called to maintain the status quo but to learn, risk, grow, stretch, and rise to meet God’s vision for the future. So, ask yourself:
- Where is God calling me to grow this year?
- How can I help others step into their ministry and calling?
- Am I ready to say “Yes” to God’s invitation to expand?
Leading the Charge in the Year of Expansion
As we move forward, the journey won’t always be easy. Transformation comes with challenges, but it also brings immense growth and reward. At the start of this year – by anchoring ourselves in God’s promises, committing to personal and communal growth, and empowering others, we can lead with even more impact in this year of expansion by faith and obedience to his Word, his ways and his whispers.
Let’s believe, position ourselves, and watch what happens as God does more than we could ever imagine in 2025. It’s time to enlarge, stretch, and grow— as God EXPANDS His work in us and those we are called to lead and bless.