BiblicalLeadership.com writer profile: Dann Spader
Tell us a little about you personally (family, church, hobbies).
I grew up in a large farm family in South Dakota … a family of 16 children. In engineering school, I came to Christ through the ministry of CRU.
My wife Char and I have three daughters, two sons-in-law, and eight grandchildren. Our two oldest daughters married best friends and together they are planting a church in Santee, Calif. Each of these girls have four children. Our third daughter Christy is on staff with CRU in Athens, Ohio as team leader of the staff there.
Describe what kind of work you do, and what you've done in the past.
I served for ten years as a youth pastor in the Chicago area, and then in 1980 launched a ministry called Sonlife Ministries. This ministry was designed to train youth pastors in discipling as seen in the Life of Christ.
Eventually, Sonlife became the training organization for 24 different denominations and was seeing over 50,000 youth leaders per year go through their training. In 1992, Sonlife began to also train pastors and elders through their "Growing a Healthy Church" division. Soon a "Women in Ministry" division was added for women's ministry. Sonlife had a training campus in Elburn, Ill. for 20 years that trained its 1000-plus trainers around the world.
In 2004, I passed the baton of Sonlife to a younger leader, and began working with our international ministry called Global Youth Initiative. At present, GYI has staff in 134 countries and works with nine major ministry partners to create movements of disciple-making with younger leaders. At the end of 2020, I will step down as full-time director of GYI (now rebranded as Concentric) and will work part-time over the next couple of years coaching emerging country leaders.
What was your first-ever leadership role?
Right after coming to Christ while in Bible College, I became a part-time youth pastor in Chicago. I had been a Christian only one year, and never participated in a youth group.
How has God grown you as a leader over the years?
My spiritual gifts are primarily leadership, administration and faith. I have worked hard to develop and maximize these three major gifts and use them for the vision God gave us. I have seen God do many miracles through the years, but have also made numerous mistakes in the journey of seeking to follow Him with my whole heart, mind and soul.
I am most passionate about a clear understanding of how Jesus developed disciples and how He unleashed them in the world to begin His movement … called the Church.
What's the hardest leadership lesson you've ever learned?
How to pass the baton of leadership, since there are no guarantees of success.
What advice would you give to Christian leaders?
Guard your heart, for out of it flow the issues of life.
Most meaningful Scripture:
2 Chronicles 20:15—"the battle is the Lord's."
 | Dann Spader has dedicated his life to disciple-making and teaching others how to take someone from a seeker to a reproducing disciple themselves, all by following the pattern Jesus laid out for us in scripture. More than 750,000 people in 90 plus countries have been trained to make disciples emulating the life of Christ through organizations and initiatives he has led. He is the Founder of Sonlife Ministries and currently serves as Founder and President of Global Youth Initiative (an alliance of organizations in 95 countries committed to "equipping leaders for movements of multiplication”). Learn More » |
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