Will
Heath
Trusted guide to churches, nonprofits, and family businesses navigating the terrain of leadership transition and change.
More than 20 years walking alongside leaders through what matters most.
More than a title.
A posture.
Will Heath is the Founder of Sherpa. With more than 20 years of experience, Will serves as a trusted guide to churches, nonprofits, and family-owned businesses navigating leadership transitions, crisis moments, and organizational change.
Will has served leaders across the U.S. and in several countries around the world. He commissioned two national Barna Group studies on pastoral succession in 2010 and 2019, research that shaped a generation of thinking about leadership transition in the church. In 2020 he authored Embracing Succession, a book that addresses the personal side of pastoral transition rather than the organizational mechanics most resources cover.
Clients and colleagues consistently describe Will the same way: wise, encouraging, and unafraid to ask the right hard questions. He does not rush clarity. He does not manufacture certainty. He helps leaders slow down long enough to see what is already true and what is possible moving forward.
At the heart of his work is a faith-filled belief that every person is made in the image of God, and that our work can and should be a meaningful act of worship. That conviction shapes every question he asks, every pace he keeps, and every engagement he takes.
National Barna Studies
Commissioned the only two national Barna Group studies focused on pastoral succession — in 2010 and 2019 — helping shape how the church understands leadership transition.
Published Book
Author of Embracing Succession (2020), addressing the personal side of ministry transition that most succession planning resources leave untouched.
Years in the Field
Over two decades of direct engagement with leaders navigating real transitions, crisis moments, and organizational change across the United States and internationally.
Embracing Succession
Helping Ministry Leaders Confront the Personal Side of Transition
Most books on succession focus on organizational concerns — the search, the structure, the sequence. Embracing Succession takes a different path, addressing what leaders must confront personally before the tactical work can even begin.
Succession planning is personal long before it becomes tactical. Don't ignore it. Don't run from it. Embrace it.
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Wisdom is formed in the whole of a life.
Will and his wife Ali were married in 1999 and are raising three daughters together. That context — of long commitment, patient formation, and the ordinary weight of family life — shapes how Will shows up in every engagement.
He does not approach leadership as an abstraction. He knows what it means to carry responsibility across years, to build something slowly, and to remain steady when the outcomes are uncertain. That knowledge is not theoretical. It is lived.
At the heart of his work is a faith-filled belief that every person is made in the image of God, and that our work can — and should — be a meaningful act of worship.
Will Heath, FounderReady to walk through this together?
Every engagement starts with a conversation. Will listens before he leads. If you are navigating a transition, carrying a crisis, or preparing for what comes next — that conversation is the right first step.
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