Leading with Courage: Rev. Dr. Alvin Sanders - Building Healthier Churches for Urban Flourishing

Future Nonprofit

"95% of the world's pastors have no formal ministry training. And the best thing that we had done in all those years was training pastors and communities of poverty. So we said, “If it's not training urban ministers, it goes.” We got down to the nitty-gritty of one focus, which is training urban pastors and church leaders, because we believe that that will lead to healthier churches, which will then lead to the influencing of their neighborhoods to flourish." - Rev. Dr. Alvin Sanders

Courageous leadership isn’t just about making decisions. It’s about making the right ones, even when it’s difficult.

Rev. Dr. Alvin Sanders has a singular passion: to develop leaders, strengthen churches, and create redemptive communities that thrive in urban contexts. But getting there requires bold leadership, courageous decision making, and a willingness to narrow your focus to stay true to your mission.

In this episode, Alvin shares his journey as President and CEO of World Impact, an organization that has launched over 750 church-planting teams since 2016. He reveals the highs and lows of guiding the organization through a six-year mission overhaul—and how eliminating distractions is key to scaling nonprofit impact.

Alvin’s leadership at World Impact is driven by his deep commitment to social justice and community empowerment. He discusses how his upbringing and personal experiences instilled in him the belief that all people have gifts and abilities, inspiring him to equip church leaders to help people flourish in urban contexts.

Throughout the conversation, Alvin dives into the challenges of confronting injustice and broken systems, emphasizing the importance of civic engagement in making the world a better place. He also shares what he’s learned as he’s leaned into tough decisions, restructured management, and led with clarity and purpose.

Tune in for Alvin’s insights on collaboration, resilience, and courageous leadership—and discover a powerful blueprint for any nonprofit leader aiming to create lasting change.

Contents

1 - Growing up and early influences that shaped Alvin’s path (03:00)

2 - Alvin’s early experiences and calling to ministry (08:50)

3 - World Impact and their mission (12:50)

4 - Strategic leadership, collaboration & World Impact restructure (20:00)

5 - Implementing continuous improvement (28:30)

6 - Alvin’s biggest challenge and advice for leaders (30:15)

Links

• Historic Agency
• Alvin Sanders on LinkedIn
• World Impact
• Bernard's Story on YT
• Culture Built My Brand