A Word to My Fellow Pastors
Pastors are given a very clear job description in Ephesians 4:11-13: “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (ESV, emphasis added).
If you are a pastor and someone asks you what you do, the answer is, “I equip people to do ministry.” Scripture is clear. God gave you pastoral gifts so that you could equip the saints to go out and do the work. That is not to say you should never minister to people yourself or that you will never do anything administrative or logistical, but the lion’s share of your pastoral work should be preparing others for ministry.
I know there are other pressing needs that are important, but the argument I am trying to make here is that nothing is as important as equipping others to do ministry. In fact, I believe there is an argument to be made that nothing you are doing as a pastor is as important as or will have a more profound impact than developing and equipping others. E4:12 is simply a plan for doing what God has already commanded you to do. E4:12 is a plan built for equipping Christians for ministry, which will Lord willing unleash a movement of Jesus-style disciple makers who will strengthen, start, and support churches.
Let me give you three reasons why you should collaborate with E4:12:
- It will bring you incredible joy. The apostle John described his spiritual “children” and said that watching them walk in the truth produced the greatest joy in life (1 John 3). This resonates with me because now that I am in my 40’s, I can honestly say that my greatest joys in ministry are related to the success of those I had a hand in discovering, developing, and deploying.
- You have unique gifts to offer. One of the most powerful things you can do for someone is demystifying ministry for those who only see it from a distance. A peek inside your home and personal life will allow those aspiring to ministry to see both the normalcy and intentionality with which you live. You also have many ministry experiences to share such as things you have learned about preaching, counseling, or navigating challenging theological issues.
- Your ministry bandwidth will increase. The simple reality is that if more people are unleashed for God’s purpose through immersive ministry training and in-depth theological training, then more gospel ministry will happen in your church and eventually in your community. If you increase the amount of time and energy you put into helping those who are humble and hungry to learn and develop, then you will find that more needs are met, that more gospel conversations take place, and that more disciple-making happens. Overall, your church will be a healthier place.
Maybe you are maxed out and stressed over everything you are already doing. Perhaps you are wondering, “Do I have time for this? Can I even give time and energy to this?” My answer is that if you don’t, then you won’t have time for ministry. Developing others not only helps prepare and equip people for ministry, as we are commanded to do, it also alleviates the burden of ministry as ministry is shared by more equipped members.
Every church should have an intentional plan for turning their members into Jesus-style disciple makers who live on mission where they live, learn, work, and play.
You will discover incredible joy as your unique gifts are shared with current and future disciples. You will find ministry multiplying in your church and your effectiveness increasing by collaborating together for the purpose of God.
Will you partner with us?
Andrew Manwarren
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