Arrow Leadership prepares for future growth
VANCOUVER, BC�"A recent restructuring of Arrow Leadership is the result of what newly appointed CEO Carson Pue calls “a year of listening."
“We took our foot off the accelerator of growth for the ministry," says Pue, who served as president from 1998 to 2010. “During that 'listening' year, we doubled the number of board meetings and devoted more of that time to prayer."
Leighton Ford founded Arrow Leadership in 1991, following the death of his 21-year-old son, Sandy. One of Arrow's initial graduates, Pue�"whose wife, Brenda, founded the Canadian office�"was eventually asked to take the ministry global. Under his presidency, Arrow Leadership mushroomed, with 290 Canadian graduates and 1,400 worldwide leaders serving in more than 20 countries.
With 2011 marking Arrow Leadership's 20th year in ministry, “we were listening to hear what God would call us to do in the future," says Pue. “Was there still a need for us to be developing leaders?"
Twelve staff and 125 volunteers joined Pue as he held “listening" meetings across North America from February to June of 2009, speaking with alumni and strategic partners, as well as donors. Despite thinking “we might be out of a job in 10 years," Pue's mind was altered when 1,600 individuals suddenly applied for Arrow's leadership program.
“We were overwhelmed by men and women contacting us," says Pue. It became clear that Arrow Leadership's mission “To identify, network and develop Christian leaders worldwide to be led more by Jesus, to lead more like Jesus and to lead more to Jesus" was not complete.
And while it's still unclear what the complete restructuring will look like, Pue, who took on the CEO role January 1, knows it will involve hiring two new presidents, as well as doubling the ministry. “The hardest thing an organization can do is to double in size," he says. “We're stating that we're going to do it."
This will mean raising enrolment from 100 to 200, creating more windows of entry and providing an increase in regional representation. But Arrow Leadership's foundation will remain untouched. “We're not going to change our delivery or the quality of the experience," says Pue, “but we're going to increase our capacity."
After all, with our post-Christian, post-modern, multi-ethnic world, he explains, there is a need for a changing church. “And this requires leadership."
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