Train for Gospel Workers

Is training a normal part of your church?   You might direct traffic in the parking lot, lead in prayer, share your faith, host a small group, or serve on your church council or session.  Have you been equipped for every task you are called to do?  As a pastor or church leader do you regularly meet with people in your church to train them in and for gospel ministry?

In the current series of articles we have been looking at our sixfold strategy to raise up gospel workers in the CRCA.  This strategy begins with prayer.  Along with prayer there needs to be teaching.  The third task has to do with training.  If we are ever going to raise up sufficient gospel workers to meet the current and future needs in the CRCA, there needs to be training happening in our churches.

Training is the engine that drives gospel ministry and needs to be central to the culture of every church.  This idea has not been drempt up by some church strategist.  This idea comes from the Bible.  To be a godly follower of Jesus requires training (1 Timothy 4:7; Hebrews 12:11; see also 5:14).  The apostle Paul compares training in the Christian life to the strict training an athelete goes into to prepare for the games (1 Corinthians 9:25).  Paul goes on to point out that this strict training has been part of his regimen as a follower of Jesus.  He writes:  "Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." (1 Corinthians 9:26-27)  Jesus tells us that if we are ever going to be like him, in life and in ministry, we need to engage in training. (Luke 6:40)  This training as believers begins when we are just children, when our parents are responsible for our training.  (Ephesians 6:4; see also Deuternomony 6:6-9)  As we grow older, this training is supported and supplemented in the church.  We read in Ephesians 4:11-13 that pastors and other church leaders are called to "equip God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up...."  Older women are called to train the younger women in the church.  (Titus 2:4)  Much of the training that we require as believers, especially for righteous living, can be gleaned from the Bible (1 Timothy 3:16).

So what might this training look like in the church?  It is more than simply providing people with a to-do list when they take up a ministry task in the church.  Aubrey Malphurs is especially helpful in identifying what should be included in the training we provide in the local church.¹  He lists four areas of training:  being, knowing, doing, and feeling.  Being has to do with a person's heart and soul.  Their character.  Malphurs refers to 'being' as 'soul work'.  The late pastor and teacher, Howard Hendricks, said often, that the great crisis of leadership in our world is a crisis of character.   We must train up our church members and church leaders to be people of good character.   The Bible is crammed with lists of the kind of character qualities we should look for (see 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:6-9; 1 Peter 5:2; Acts 6:3-5; Galatians 5:22-23).   The four qualities that I strive for in myself, and what I look for in others, is holiness, humility, integrity, and discipline.

Another area of training has to do with knowing, or what  Malphurs calls 'head work'.  If people are to accomplish a task in the church, they need to know what to do.  But they need to know more.  People need to know God.  They also need to know themselves, how God has shaped them, their strengths and their weaknesses.  They need to have a general knowledge of the Bible and the teachings of the church.  They must know how to pray and share their faith.  And for people to be involved in ministry, they need to know the core values, mission and vision of the church.

A third area of training has to do with doing, or what Malphurs calls 'hand work'.  People must be able to put into practice what they learn.  We need to keep asking ourselves in church ministry:  what must a person be able to do in order to lead or engage in ministry?   Think of an adult working with your youth.  Or a person running your food pantry.  Or someone giving a Bible talk.  An elder serving on session.   What are the skills or habits that one must have in order to function well at whatever task they are involved in?  In addition to ministry skills, we also need to think of relational skills that people must have, such as how to listen, encourage, mentor, resolve conflicts, take risks, solve problems, and/or build trust.

The final area of training has to do with feeling, one's emotions, or 'heart work'.   We know that a person's emotions have a huge impact on one's mood.   As Malphurs writes, "A good mood, characterized by optimism and inspiration, affects people positively.  However, a bad mood, characterized by negativity and pessimism, will cripple the ministry and damage people."  People in ministry need to develop emotional well-being and establish a spiritually healthy climate for ministry.  For this to happen, people need to know their emotions and how to manage them well.

But here is the deal.  When it comes to training, all four areas are critical for a healthy church culture.  We cannot overemphasize one of these areas to the exclusion of others.  Focus on all four areas, and you will ramp up effective gospel work in and through the church.   

And here is the real bonus.   When we engage in this kind of training in the church, there will be those who will surface and come to our attention as people who desire to be engaged in gospel work as a vocation in life.  Among them will be the gospel workers we need in the CRCA.  Remember, the engine that drives gospel ministry is training.

 ¹  This is discussed at length in Malphur's book, Building Leaders (Baker Books), pp. 147-151.