Training Up New Leaders for Full-time Ministry

The process of caring for those who have committed themselves to full-time service.

Training Up New Leaders | Two Confirmations   | Training Process   |  Specific Steps

The Two Confirmations of a Ministry Call

The question that faces us is, “How does a church leader best help a person who comes forward at a mission’s conference in response to God’s call to full-time service?” Let’s think about this a moment. The decision he or she has made to go into full-time service is very important. This person has put his or her life into God’s hands.

But more often than not, they do not really know what this kind of decision means practically. They have no idea what it means to be a pastor or missionary. They are not usually responding to the job opportunity but to the Lord Himself and His truth. God has impressed certain truths very clearly on their minds and hearts and so they have made that decision public.

As a leader in the church, believe that God has given you and the others sufficient wisdom, resources, experience and grace to help this person get to where he needs to go. You might feel inadequate for this assignment. If you haven’t been to seminary, you don’t know how to train them. If you have been to seminary, you think that training means to replicate what they did in seminary. Both of these responses will keep you as God’s leaders from rightly carrying out your faith–building roles. God will give you wisdom to encourage these upcoming leaders as you depend upon Him for help.

Suggestion: Take a step of faith and trust yourself to God as He leads you to help those seeking hard after the Lord’s will. Confess your weakness; acknowledge His wisdom. Let this be a journey of faith for you as much as for them. They have a lot to learn from you, but if you are like many leaders, you don’t very well understand the process of passing experience, insight and knowledge on to others.

But what about…?

You might still be thinking about that one person who seems rather unfit for full-time service. He is eagerly talking to you about his commitment. Yet, you feel awkward. He is excited. You want to hold him back while he wants to go forward. How do you handle such a person?

The worse thing in the world is to send such a person wanting to go into full-time service to seminary though not sincerely believing that God is calling him. We need to focus on the reasons we really cannot support a person whether it is because of personal or relationship problems or simply lack of giftedness. We do not want to cause more problems by sending someone inappropriate into the ministry!

After learning about what is on this person’s heart, simply tell him that you are excited about what God is doing in his life. Explain that there are two parts to a call, both an inward and outward call.

The Two Confirmations of a Call

You may still be thinking about that one person who seems rather unfit for full-time service. He eagerly talks to you about his commitment. Yet, you feel awkward. He is excited. You want to hold him back while he wants to go forward. How do you handle such a person?

If you do not sincerely believe that God is calling him, the worst thing in the world would be to send such a person to seminary. We need to focus on the reasons we have difficulty supporting him. Discern whether it is because of personal or relationship problems or simply a lack of giftedness. We do not want to cause more problems by sending someone inappropriate into the ministry!

After learning about what is on this person’s heart, simply tell him that you are excited about what God is doing in his life. Explain that there are two parts to a call, both an inward and outward call.

The inward confirmation describes how God speaks to an individual person in particular or general ways. The individual feels called to serve because God spoke to his own heart through one of many means.

The outward confirmation describes the circumstances, including his own church leadership agreement that affirms God is really calling him to full-time service. A person’s character, circumstances and overall abilities need to be assessed. The inward and outward confirmations should complement each other.[1]

Inward Confirmation	Outward Confirmation
“It is a trustworthy statement; if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.”	“An overseer, then must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, etc.”

 

The inward confirmation is seen in the way a person ‘aspires’ to serving the Lord. The way God privately speaks to him resonates with who he is and how God made him. The outward confirmation speaks about observable character qualities and situations such as his family,

Suggestion

It is always best to share these two aspects of both inward and outward confirmation with ‘called’ individuals. Sometimes people are confirmed on the outward but not the inward. At other times, they are sure God called them (the inward) but lack the confirming circumstances. Share with them your excitement and briefly introduce your plan of action.

Explain how you and other leaders will work in the next years with them in confirming their gifts, strengthening their faith, purifying their lives, and encouraging them in their walk with God. You might be able to share an experience from your own life how God helped you grow in some certain area. In any case, you do not need to commit anything but willingness to work beside them to train them.