Ascending Leaders is an organization focused on equipping churches and leaders for Christ-centered discipleship, resulting in measurable results and eternal outcomes. Our timeline reflects a continuous process of learning, development, program delivery, and evaluation. Here’s a comprehensive timeline:

Early- Development (Pre-2005): Mike Johnson, the founder of Ascending Leaders, with the help of a team, developed and implemented the Texas Leadership Development Network. This network served as a foundational initiative, building the core concepts and methodologies that would later define Ascending Leaders. He also planted and pastored a church in Missouri City, TX during this period, gaining practical experience that informed his later work.

2005-2007 Season of Passionate Beginnings

• Jan. 1, 2005: Ascending Leaders was founded, providing churches with effective curriculum for deeper discipleship.
• 2005-2007: Achieved success in a number of churches and especially in a Willow-Creek Church plant in Austin, TX.
• 2006-2008: Experienced numerous stories of “bigger-than-life transformation”.

2008-2012: Season of Determination Despite Rocky Waters

• Summer/Fall 2008: Recession, led to congregations becoming less open to outside help, causing AL to alter expectations.
• 2008-2012 Ascending Leaders experimented and adapted by printing and selling resources as bite-sized booklets

2013-2015: Season of Church Leadership Vision and Discipleship Coaching/Teaching Blossoming.

• YE 2016: An unexpected revenue windfall of over $100,000 funded significant ministry and staff expansion.

2016-2019: Season of Expanding Beyond & Concentrating On, focusing on discipleship by 4 stages, teaching concepts, and coaching congregational leadership.

• Early 2017: REVEAL assessment recruited Ascending Leaders for a formal partnership as certified coaches.
• Mid-2017: Recruited first Discipleship Coaches, in addition to Mike.
• Feb. 2018: Hired a full-time Director of Operations.
• Mid 2018: Began formal contracts with churches. By this time, Ascending Leaders served 10 coaches, worked with 4 denominations, and served churches of 70 to 2,000 people.
• Aug. 2019: Began the first 2-year Church Discipleship Co-lab.

2020-2025: Season of in obedience to God, Opening the Tent Flaps Wide, inviting churches into an adventure where the heart of discipleship beats strong and steady. (Isaiah 54:2)2020: Ascending Leaders adapted to Covid-19/Stay-at-home guidelines and its challenging effect on churches. challenges.

• 2020-2024 Success for small churches through co-labs and scholarshipped coaching.
• 2021: Got crystal clear on our mission: Equipping churches for Christ-centered discipleship. Measurable results. Eternal outcomes.
• 2021-2025: Expanded reach of church-wide discipleship into a country closed to Christianity, which was exceptionally well-received.
• 2023: Served the largest number of churches in one year: 38.
• 2024: Added a SMART goal to grow to serve 70 churches in 2027
• October 2024: Board began a discussion to be complete in 2025 about what God is calling the next season to be for Ascending Leaders’ visionary mission
• 2024-2025: Gained clarity on the critical role of the senior church leadership in culture change to a discipleship culture, revealed a new Menu of Services and released the new discipleship coaching resource DiscipleScan!