Train Leaders for Ministry by Paul J. Bucknell

Train Leaders for Ministry

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

Paul J. Bucknell

Train up! | Support God's Work | Leader's Responsibility
Confirmation of the Call | Training Process | General Plan | Specific Plan
Too Many People | Summary

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The Training Process

Purpose

The Training Process is part five of a series on Train Up New Leaders for Ministry, which gives confidence to a mentor on how to train someone in one's local church using one's own resources.

God wants great leaders and good shepherds. We can be one hundred percent sure of this. The Lord came alongside Joshua and showed him how God wanted him to succeed as a leader (see Joshua 1). He desires that every leader would do well so that His sheep are well-fed and guarded.

God spoke harshly against lazy or selfish shepherds in the Bible (Ezekiel 34).

Great leaders are sensitive to God’s desires. They want to obey Him. They are there to serve others. I am sure you have seen wonderful examples of these hardworking shepherds that prioritize the needs of others, like the Great Shepherd, the Lord Jesus. Behind the various gifts, we seek dedication and faithfulness.

We need to strategically help these shepherds-in-training to prepare for ministry nearby or in a faraway land across the seas. We have seen too many men go into ministry only to give up after a few years of service. They were not well prepared.

Keep Track of each area of training.

We need a general and a specific plan. Seminaries and Bible schools are not designed to train a person’s character but to advance their knowledge. Nor does it train them on how to relate to others with whom they disagree.

The place to train individuals in such qualities is in your own church before they attend any formal training.

We would also expect a seminary to excel at training students to train others, but unfortunately, this is the exception unless they are to become professors. They can often do some deep exegetical study in the original language, but have not learned how to disciple a person or start a church.

Many church leaders want to pass this responsibility to others because they themselves have never been trained. They might not know how to equip another or help another improve one’s personal character.

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Let’s trust God to use us to help better prepare these young (and maybe not so young) ones going into ministry. (The Godly Man has many free resources and studies on how to deepen the leader’s character.)

Fortunately, we work under the Lord. As we seek Him, God will help us know what steps to take. Even though we have been involved in extensive training in the past, we still need to humbly seek God for His wisdom and direction for each individual concerned. We need this specific direction to guide us in taking practical steps to help him or her. We will speak more of this later.

A Leader’s Project

Next => The General Plan