When we set up the Engage Church Network, we had a plan we thought would work. We wanted to work with churches and pastors. I wanted to coach pastors and help churches discover their God given visions on how God had called them to minister to and evangelize their specific communities. We immediately ran into a road block. We don’t have enough pastors. Hundreds of churches in Tennessee came to worship this past Sunday without a pastor. What’s more, there’s no process in place to identify, train and then deploy these pastors to the places where they are needed.
Traditionally, Baptists have valued a highly trained clergy. Most churches require a seminary education. This means four years of college and three years of seminary. I loved my seminary experience and I’m still friends with many of those I went to school with and even some of my professors. Yet, we’ve discovered two problems with the traditional approach to training our pastors. First, it does nothing to prepare a pastor for the practical aspects of leading a local church. Second, it takes too long. We don’t have seven years to train a pastor. We’re in an “all hands on deck” moment in the local church.
This is why we started the Engage Church Network School of Ministry. Using local pastors as our faculty, we’re training future pastors by placing them in the actual work of ministry from the very start. Rather than spending years in the library on a seminary campus, our students learn by doing. We want them closely tied to a local pastor in a local church doing what pastors do —preaching, working with volunteers, managing conflicts, and navigating the complex realities of church life. Our students learn by living. Their Christian world view has been formed in the crucible of local church ministry. Local church training naturally integrates theological reflection with practical application.
Most importantly, local church training is founded in significant relationships with mentors. Students are observed doing real ministry in real time. From there, an experienced mentor and coach could provide accurate and effective feedback. Gifts can be identified and called out. Mistakes can be quickly corrected and learning can be tailored to the student’s specific needs. Every Paul makes a Timothy.
There has been a lot of discussion lately about the value of a college education. The same debate is now being held about seminaries. Too many of our local church pastors are burdened by student debt that, in worst case scenarios, keeps them from staying in the ministry. This method of training allows students to achieve the necessary biblical and theological training in a price range that makes sense for most local church pastors.
Other benefits of this training method is less pastoral turn over and a deeper understanding of the context of the local church’s ministry. With this training method openly discussed by the pastor and other leaders, more and more members become open to being trained and becoming ministers themselves.
We’re also finding out that churches who train pastors become more missional. By emphasizing the mission, vision and values being served in this training, more and more members become engaged in the actual ministry itself. While some are being trained in the local church for ministry, every member will be challenged to find their own place of service.
We believe pastors are best formed in the context where they will serve. We believe pastors are best trained by mature and experienced pastors who are successful practitioners. This is the old “watch then do” method of learning. Pastors who are trained in this apprenticeship model will end up more practically prepared, spiritually mature, and effectively equipped for the complex demands of contemporary pastoral ministry and I’m confident they, in turn, will be better pastors.
