Nate Adams likened leadership to climbing mountains—very tall mountains. For church leaders, the challenge is more than scaling the heights. “Our job is not only across geography—it’s across generations,” Adams said.
The outgoing IBSA Executive Director has told many stories about climbing 14,000-foot mountains in Colorado— “14-ers,” they’re called. His venture began with the need to connect with one of his sons who struggled with faith. A teenager at the beginning, the adventure of climbing 14-ers captured the young man’s imagination, and the travels from Illinois to Colorado gave the father time with his son.
Some climbs are steeper and harder than they look from the starting point. Adams offered his climb of the Manitou Incline as one example. Next-gen ministry is another.
Today, the son is strong in his faith, and the whole family has conquered many, many 14-ers. And for the senior Adams, mountain climbing has produced insight into conquering large leadership challenges—like reaching the next generation.
At the Illinois Leadership Summit, Adams challenged church leaders to use five lessons from mountain climbing in this quest.
“The hard part is always application and execution,” he said at the beginning. The “hard thing” of reaching the next generation is complicated by the place where our churches are located. “Being Baptist in the upper Midwest is not easy,” Adams said. Christianity is counter-cultural here. While Illinois may be flat, leading people to faith and effective church membership is an uphill climb—especially when it is complicated by the gaps between generations.
To those engaging with that call, Adams advised packing worthwhile supplies, like the hiker with the right boots, climbing poles, and energy bars. He offered these categories.
1. Motivation. “Why do I care about doing this hard thing?”
Adams shared the stories of two churches encountered by Rob Peters, the church revitalization expert who has consulted with IBSA. Both churches said they had an evangelism problem. They were seeing no growth.
The people at the first church said that they didn’t believe God would save people through their church, because they weren’t seeing it.
Peters concluded, “You don’t have an evangelism problem, you have a faith problem.” They didn’t expect God to use them to fulfill his salvation commission.
The second church said they weren’t really concerned about the lack of growth, because they were comfortable with the church at its present size.
Peters concluded, “You don’t have an evangelism problem, you have a compassion problem.” They weren’t moved by the future of lost people.
In both cases, the issue was motivation. As leaders commit to reach the next generation, we need to ask why we’re doing it.
2. Preparation. “How will I prepare?”
On steep and dangerous climbs, Adams said, “we’ve seen a mom and dad and two or three toddlers, with a candy bar and no water. They were completely unprepared. Adams showed his boots, climbing poles, and headlamps for climbs that must start long before sunrise. “How you get ready for hard things makes all the difference.”
3. Cooperation. “Who will share this hard thing with me?”
Adams told the story of a climb with his son Caleb. At one point, he decided to wait while Caleb finished the last especially steep bit. It turned into a very anxious five-hour wait, as he asked every climber headed down if they had seen his son.
With no cell signal and nightfall coming, “I decided then, I will never hike another mountain alone,” he said. Or allow others to go alone.
“Don’t pastor alone,” Adams said, quoting the slogan of another association.
4. Celebration. “When will I stop and stare, and behold how far we have come?”
At the top of every 14-er, it’s the Adams family’s practice to stop and eat a chocolate bar. They carry candy with them to the top, for the express purpose of celebration. “Recognizing progress gives you strength for the rest of the journey,” he said. And as most climbers will tell you, the second half is an even greater challenge. And often more dangerous.
Adams told the story of a Baptist church leader he knew whose three daughters were scattered across the globe. Each of them had walked away from her faith. While it grieved the man, he was investing in kids in hopes someone will invest in his.
“I am amazed what God has done with this old man,” the fellow told Adams as he shared stories of many young people accepting Christ and growing as disciples. His point: serve where you can, and celebrate whoever you can.
5. Determination. “How much will I dare?”
“When you are at the summit, you are only halfway home,” he said. “With hard things, you find yourself in a place where you have to come back from that.
While we may think the hard thing is just one mountain, Adams explained that hard things are usually a series of mountains. Some 14-ers have a false summit. When the climber reaches what he thinks is the peak, he sees another higher peak, and often a treacherous valley between these serial summits.
Reaching the next generation will be like that. “You are in it for the ascent, you are in it for the descent, you are in it for the next mountain,” the experienced climber said. “Many adjustments that it will take to reach the next generation come even after the celebration,” he said, because there is always another next generation.
“Do hard things—to reach the next generation,” Adams urged, “and to grow your church younger to reach the next generation.”