Pipeline for Unicorns

Building a Brave Ecosystem One Leader at a Time

Photo by Juliana Araujo the artist on Unsplash

What happens when you have a vision for a movement, a community rich with potential, and even the funding to back new projects—but you can’t find the leaders to make it all work?

That’s the dilemma we dug into on Episode 17 of the Gray Pages podcast: “Pipeline for Unicorns.” In it, we confront a core tension we’re feeling in real time—how do you build a pipeline for the kinds of leaders needed to co-create a brave city?

Spoiler alert: you don’t find unicorns easily. But you can build toward them.  We’re not just looking for skills.  We’re looking for people who long for the city of God.

In under-resourced neighborhoods, the needs are massive—but so is the potential. What’s often missing is a pipeline of leaders with the right combination of cultural alignment, relational maturity, spiritual depth, and vocational capability. Not just someone who can run a food truck or manage a youth program, but someone who gets the kingdom logic behind it all. That’s the “unicorn” we’re looking for.

The issue isn’t just talent—it’s DNA. And that’s harder to hire for than you might think.

The Myth (and Truth) of “The Laborers Are in the Harvest”

It’s a beautiful phrase—and one we believe deeply. But the real-world application is slow and generational. You can’t microwave leadership development from within communities where cycles of trauma, poverty, or instability run deep. That’s a 40-year investment.

Sometimes, you need outside reinforcements. That doesn’t mean parachuting in saviors or colonizing a neighborhood—it means inviting wild, brave, mission-minded people to embed, learn, and walk in step with the community long enough to become part of it.

We’ve seen it work. But it takes trust, patience, humility, and a deeply formed pipeline.

Pivot Points and Pipelines: Who is Actually Free to Risk?

Over the years, we’ve seen two life stages consistently emerge as pivot points for people who are the most open to radical relocation, risk-taking innovation, and kingdom living:

• Young adults, especially post-college.

• Older adults, particularly early retirees.

Why? They’re unencumbered. They’re curious. They’re available.  College students and recent grads often come with fresh energy, idealism, and openness to risk. Retirees bring wisdom, margin, and often, financial freedom. Both groups are in a place to say “yes” to something new.

Regardless, you can’t just drop people into the Navy SEAL team of your movement and expect them to thrive. They need time to draw near, test the waters, and imagine their life in the context of your ecosystem.

That’s why intentional “come and see” spaces matter. Internships, summer residencies, short-term immersions—these aren’t side projects. They’re on-ramps for the right people to become part of the family.

And make no mistake: that’s what people are joining. Not just a mission, but a family. If you haven’t built that, the pipeline leads nowhere.

From Family to Army to City

In Brave Cities, we often talk about a progression: church as family, church as army, and church as city. You can’t build the city without the family. You won’t win the battle without the army. And you won’t keep the family together without a shared mission.

This is why leadership pipelines are spiritual work. We’re not just looking for staff—we’re looking for people who’ve counted the cost, courageously stared down the narrative of empire, and still chose to say yes.

We don’t need more organizational logos and staff positions supporting those logos. We need more people chasing the presence of God in hidden places. We need movement-builders, not resume builders. We need unicorns.

Ready to Join the Movement?

Maybe you’re a recent grad. Maybe you’re in your second act. Maybe you’re somewhere in between. But if something in your spirit stirs when you hear about kingdom ecosystems, forgotten places, and the joy of quiet faithfulness—reach out.

We’re building cities where God can dwell. And we need builders.