Invest Anyway

Sometimes leaders come in unexpected packages.

Toward the beginning of 2023, I had three separate conversations with three different women in our church. Each of them brought up in one way or another that they desired to learn how to write a sermon.

Not exactly the emerging leaders I was looking for.

From a strategic perspective, I’ve always been encouraged to invest in younger leaders. Not that the older generation is unimportant, but it does makes sense that with limited time and resources, we should focus on raising up those emerging leaders who will be able to influence people for Jesus for decades to come. So, what was I supposed to do with these three women? Two have grandkids and all three are old enough to get a discount on their breakfast at IHOP.

There were younger people in the church I wanted to develop. There were other leaders to which I thought it would be smarter to devote my time. But after praying, I couldn’t shake it: God was clearly asking me to invest in these women.

Before long, I was meeting with the group in an upstairs classroom at the church, teaching them my approach to sermon development (an approach influenced by both Andy Stanley’s Communicating for a Change, and my dad, who is one of the best preachers I know).

They each completed the three-month-long class last fall, having written a sermon of their own. Each of their sermons reflected countless hours of prayer, Bible study, writing and re-writing and re-writing again. Now, whether they share at a mid-week service, a special event, or a Sunday morning, they each have a message burning in their hearts that they are ready to preach.

I am excited to see what comes next for them. But I’m also walking away with a new resolve: I want to invest where God is calling me to invest.

When God leads me to people I wouldn’t normally gravitate to, invest anyway. When it’s surprising and seems to contradict my leadership strategy books, invest anyway.

If you look at who Jesus called and invested in, His choices surely shocked a lot of people. When you look at who I was when He chose me, that was pretty shocking too. I’m so grateful Jesus didn’t cater to the opinions of others and chose me anyway. I’m also thankful for ministry leaders like my dad, my mentor Steve Moore, and my long-time pastor Gary Khan. When God prompted them, and even when my potential was hard to see, they invested anyway. 

Levi Thompson

Levi Thompson serves as the lead pastor at Desert Streams Church in Canyon Country, CA. Following a life-changing encounter with God at 17, Levi became passionate about facilitating transformative experiences with God for others and inspiring them to pursue their God-given destinies. Levi enjoys sharing life’s adventures and the ministry journey with his wife, Katie, and their two children, Noah (13) and Mia (8).