MentorNet
#11
Pastoral Ministries Required by
the New Testament
Copyright © 2003 by George Patterson and Galen Currah
Use the chart on the next page as a checklist for ministry development in new, or renewing, churches. Cell groups also should practice these ministries or network with others who do so.
The first task of the pastoral mentor is to listen to his apprentices, then to help them make plans and select studies that meet the immediate needs of their churches and cells. However, needs that we perceive may not include all the activities that the New Testament presents as normal for churches. Therefore, this chart alerts us to opportunities to help our apprentices introduce and develop a gamut of ministries in their churches, and the churches of those that the apprentices train, including in different social and cultural groups.
When Paul urged Timothy to maintain a training ministry (2 Tim. 2:2) with multiple levels, he qualified the subject areas as the "things which you heard from me among many witnesses." We understand that Paul meant to major on the majors, that is, to train new pastors to lead their flocks into ministries that were common in the early churches. To this day, biblically informed followers of Jesus return to the apostolic epistles to find guidelines for their life and practice. In the following table, we have tried to provide a summary of the kinds of ministries that God requires in the New Testament.
Use the chart on the next page, or, better, make your own, to help you and your apprentices to review areas of needed growth in their churches and cells. Place a check or tick mark beside those ministries that are already being done by their church. Secondly, help them to decide which of the remaining ministries they will start now to introduce into their church. Then go to the Train & Multiply™ menu for find training activities and study materials that will help. We recommend that you keep a copy of the chart for each church and cell that the apprentices oversees, so that you can track each one’s development.
An alternative to the single tick box is to use a scale. You can copy the following line and paste it above each item in the "Pastoral Ministries Chart."
o Need recognized, o Plan made, o Action initiated, o Workers trained, o Work sustained.
Such a scale helps track ministry development and encourages your apprentices. They see each action as progress, even though their people do the new ministry without great skill or finesse.
PASTORAL MINISTRIES CHARTMinistries Required by the New Testament To chart the progress of a church or cell, mark ministries being done by the church or cell. Develop ministries in the order that best fits the immediate needs of your people or your trainee. |
|
|
SHEPHERDING MINISTRIES |
|
|
o Watch over the spiritual life of the flock that God has given you |
|
|
o Counsel and correct the unruly firmly but without condemning, 1 Cor. 5 o Restore unruly or limping lambs, Titus 3:10-11; Gal. 6:1-2 o Counsel people with personal or family problems, as Paul did, Philemon o Ward off wolves, Acts 20:17-38 |
|
|
o Agree as a body on goals, practices and general plans, Acts 15: 22-31; 2 Cor. 13:11 |
|
|
o Strengthen marriage and family life, Ephesians 5:21 - 6:4 |
|
|
BODY BUILDING MINISTRIES |
|
|
o Pray |
|
|
o All members of the flock develop daily personal and family devotions, 1 Thess. 5:17 o Wage spiritual warfare and intercede for those who need God's help, Eph. 6:10-18; Romans 12:12 o Pray for the sick and needy, Gen. 18:20-33; James 5:14-15 |
|
|
o Serve one another with in and between churches or cells, 1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4:11-16; Rom. 12:4-16 |
|
|
o Give. Be stewards of all God has given us: our treasure, talents and time, Luke 6:38; Matt. 25:14-30 o Organize and oversee so that all serve with their spiritual gifts, in harmony in the body, 1 Cor. 12 |
|
|
o Oversee as servant leaders, not as power-hungry commanders, Matt. 20:25-28 |
|
|
o Evaluate periodically all these ministries, 1 Peter 5:1-4; Eph. 4:11-16 |
|
|
o Serve the needy within the church body, Acts 6:1-6; Gal. 6:10 o Cultivate loving fellowship among members of the flock, Rom. 12:3-21; 1 Cor. 13 o Worship as a church or cell body, including the Lord's Supper, Matthew 26:26-28, Heb. 10:25; Acts 2:46; 20:7 |
|
|
MINISTRIES TO PEOPLE OUTSIDE THE BODY OF CHRIST o Witness for Christ, Luke 24:46-48; Acts 1:8; 2 Timothy 4:5 o Care for the needy outside the church body, Matt. 25:31-46; Luke 10:25-37 o Start new churches and cells (tiny churches within a larger one), Acts chapters 13 - 14 o Prepare, commission and send missionaries to neglected, receptive peoples, Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 13:1-3 |
|
|
TRAINING MINISTRIES o Make disciples the way Jesus said |
|
|
o Teach your disciples do exactly what Jesus commands us to do, Matthew 28:18-20 |
|
|
o Teach, preach and apply the Word, 1 Tim. 3:16-172 Timothy 4:2; James 1:22-26 |
|
|
o Equip the believers for the work of the ministry, Eph. 4-11-12 |
|
|
o Train elders, pastors, evangelists and missionaries |
|
|
o Leaders mentor apprentices or trainees to help lead or to lead other churches or cells, Mark 3:14; Titus 1:5 |
|
|
o Give new pastoral leaders full responsibility to lead, including for new churches or cells, 1 Pet. 5:1-4 |
|
|
o Workers pass on ministry skills to others to extend the work, or start new churches or cells, 2 Tim. 2:2 |
|
To find mentoring tools and sites, visit <http://www.MentorAndMultiply.com>.
We invite those who use Train & Multiply™ to write to George Patterson at <GPatterson@cvimail.net>.
For information on T&M™, visit <http://www.TrainAndMultiply.com>.
For information on Paul & Timothy Training, visit <http://www.Paul-Timothy.net>.
For information on "Come, Let Us Disciple the Nations" (CD-ROM) <http://www.AcquireWisdom.com>.
Order the Church Multiplication Guide from your Christian bookshop at <http://www.WCLbooks.com>.