Program to Train Regional Church Leaders Also Transforms a Local Church

“As I sat in the Sabbath School classroom listening to one of our members tell his story, using a basic timeline he learned in the Leadership Laboratory [LeadLab] program, he was showing that he was a living miracle,” said Will Johns, associate pastor at the Washington Spanish Bilingual Adventist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States. “I was astounded to hear the enormity of the obstacles that he had overcome. And now God was using his gifts powerfully to bless our church.”

Johns explained that the man, who had been through so much, was now offering his talents to God and reaching others who were going through their own challenges. “As he shared his story, he became aware for the first time that God had taken everything from his past and used it to form his spiritual leadership in the present,” Johns shared. This is the power of LeadLab, an initiative of the world church to train leaders, when it is also applied to local church members, Johns said.

Training Church Leaders

LeadLab was originally founded in 2019 under the umbrella of the Global Leadership Institute of Andrews University, in close collaboration with the General Conference (GC), by codirectors Erich Baumgartner and Randy Seibold, with the assistance and support of then GC treasurer Juan Prestol-Puesán and Ramiro Quero.

The purpose of LeadLab is to provide ongoing leadership training for division, union, and conference leaders. But in April 2025 it was conducted in a local church as a prototype.

Moving It to a Local Church Context

The Washington Spanish Bilingual Adventist Church offered the opportunity for the experiment. “I wanted to see how this powerful tool could be used to activate leaders in the local church,” Prestol-Puesán said. “It was an experiment.”

The eight-month journey with the congregation began by sharing a curriculum online with expert presenters plusfour Sabbath morning sermons. In addition, several Sabbath afternoon classes entitled Leadership Spotlight featured motivational speakers and material.

Participants were asked to put together a 20- to 30-minute presentation, in which they would highlight how God had led them in the past, by presenting a timeline of their story following the stipulations written in the book The Making of a Leader, by J. Robert Clinton. The pastoral staff became an integral part of the listening process as the participants addressed the spiritual gifts that God had given them and how being in LeadLab had helped them grow as leaders.

Positive Feedback

Local church pastor Pablo Gaitan felt privileged to be a part of this process. “I see so clearly how God has formed my leaders into who they are today. It is such a blessing to hear their stories!” Johns expressed a similar sentiment: “It is an honor to be present to hear these sacred testimonies of the leading of God through people’s lives. I see how God is always at work growing people so they can serve Him even more effectively.”

In late 2025 the church held a special celebration honoring each participant in LeadLab with a certificate of completion. Even though this particular session of LeadLab has come to an end, the real application process is just beginning. The 15 participants who successfully finished the program now have the opportunity to use the knowledge they gained to serve God more effectively. Gaitan summed it up perfectly with these words: “I’m so grateful that LeadLab was willing to try something new by coming to my local church. Our members have been blessed so much. We are already a stronger church because of this experience.”

About LeadLab

According to reports when the initiative was voted, LeadLab is an innovative program that seeks to provide church leaders with three tracks for learning: (1) LeadLAB, a series of short-term, focused leadership development seminars and workshops offered to divisions that wish to participate; (2) LeadCONFERENCE, an annual leadership development conference that coincides with the denomination’s Annual Council; and (3) LeadMENTORS, an individualized, customized mentorship program provided to emerging leaders.

“The purpose of these programs is to help build and strengthen the leadership of the church,” Baumgartner said when introducing the program back in 2022. “[We want] to help leaders have a higher level of competency, a stronger faith in our church and its mission, and the opportunity to build the habits of a growing leader.”

Some months later LeadLab was introduced to world church leaders at Annual Council 2022. Since then, the training was taken and offered at various church regions around the world, including Australia, the Philippines, and Indonesia. And now the training is moving to a local church context as well.