You Were Never Meant to Lead Alone: The Power of Sharing Leadership

Build a Collaborative and Sustainable Ministry Structure

The work of the church is more than any one person can handle, and God never intended for one pastor to do all a church’s ministry alone.

Discover a communal and biblical model of missional leadership in You Were Never Meant to Lead Alone. In this book, E. K. Strawser seeks to recover the shared leadership model of the early church, offering a practical and inclusive alternative to hierarchical and patriarchal church leadership structures. This book invites pastors, church planters, and ministry leaders to rethink how leadership can empower the entire body of Christ. By identifying the gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers, this book provides a vision for leadership that fosters collaboration, inclusivity, and spiritual flourishing.

In this book, Strawser

• Explores how shared leadership can be integrated into the structure of a church;
• Expands on the fivefold diversity of leadership: apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers;
• Highlights how different gifts and leadership styles suit various aspects of ministry;
• Expands ministry beyond paid staff, promoting inclusivity regardless of gender, race, or culture;
• Addresses real-life power dynamics and temptations leaders face; and
• Offers practical, sustainable structures to multiply leaders for the benefit of the entire community.

This book argues that for the church to truly reflect the fullness of Christ, it must embrace the sharing of power. If you’re ready to reimagine ministry and build mature leadership in your church, start with You Were Never Meant to Lead Alone.

E. K. Strawser (DO, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine) is the co-vocational lead pastor of Ma Ke Alo o (which means ＂presence＂ in Hawaiian)--non-denominational missional communities multiplying in Honolulu--and a community physician at Ke Ola Pono. She is the founder of `Iwa Collaborative, a consulting and content-developing firm to empower kingdom-grounded leaders to navigate change, grow adaptive capacity, and foster local flourishing. Prior to transitioning to Hawaii, she served as adjunct professor of medicine at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and of African Studies at her alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania (where she and her husband served with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship), after finishing her Fulbright scholarship at the University of Dar es Salaam. She is the author of Centering Discipleship, and she and Steve have three seriously amazing children.