The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. (Matthew 9:37,38).
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:18-20).
The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2:2).[1]
Dear fellow-workers in ministry,
We face a pressing concern. In twenty years’ time, who will be the ministers of our churches or leading youth and children’s ministries? Who will be serving overseas as missionaries? Who will be our chaplains in schools, hospitals, prisons, universities, defence force, aged care, and sporting bodies? Who will be our church planters, here or abroad?
We need to be increasingly intentional and proactive, identifying individuals who are competent and godly, open to learning and willing to bear the cost.
There is a clear answer: all those roles will be filled by men, women, young people from your congregation or who are involved in your ministries. They will be people whom you have prayed for, trained, nurtured and encouraged towards full-time Gospel ministry. There are so many different types of gospel ministry that we need to be helping to raise-up, including:
- ordained church ministry;
- youth work;
- families and children’s work;
- evangelism;
- church planting;
- Bible translation;
- theological education;
- university chaplaincy;
- leaders of … denominations / church planting movements / Bible and theological colleges /church and missionary organisations;
- mentoring and supervision;
- coaching in ministry skills;
- enabling lay ministry;
- global missions advocacy;
- doing cross-cultural ministry in Australia or overseas;
- working in gospel-poor communities;
- serving in rural ministry or outback ministry in Australia or overseas.
Increasingly Intentional
To do this we need to be increasingly intentional and proactive, identifying individuals who are competent and godly, open to learning and willing to bear the cost. We need to pray for them and nurture them. We will also need to change the culture of our churches and ministries in order to celebrate and further God’s global gospel plan. The banner of 2 Timothy 2:2 must be lifted high!
Note: It is the formation and training which people receive before they decide to go to Bible/Theological College or Missionary Training College that is most influential in making life decisions, and preparing for life-long trained gospel ministry.
We need to do this in a way that does not devalue doing ordinary work, paid and unpaid, in which we serve God and our neighbour in God’s world.
We need to do this in a way that does not devalue doing ordinary work, paid and unpaid, in which we serve God and our neighbour in God’s world.
How can we make this happen? What can you do?
A Ten-Point Plan for Preparing the Next Generation
- Pray daily, privately and publicly, that the Lord of the harvest would raise up abundant workers for his abundant harvest.
- Pray for God’s gospel plan, and for his current workers, in our Sunday intercessions in our churches each week, and in our ministries. When we pray for gospel workers and missionaries, pray for their ministries and for God to be at work in the people they serve, and not only for their personal welfare.
- Ensure that in our intercessions, we not only pray for the congregation or ministry but also for our local community, for our nation, and for the world.
- Ensure that in our preaching and teaching, we are not only teaching the faithful but also training them for their mutual ministry of teaching and encouragement and training them to speak to unbelievers of their faith in Christ.
- Encourage lay ministry and provide effective training and feedback for those who do it.
- Open people’s eyes to the many subcultures in our society, in order to train people for opportunities to do cross-cultural ministry, ensuring that our churches model effective and loving cross-cultural mission and ministry.
- Be pro-active in identifying men and women, and young people, who have the potential character, maturity, love, resilience, and gifts to be trained for long-term gospel ministry: then talk to them, pray with them, provide specialist training for them, give them stretching opportunities in ministry, give them feedback on their ministry, and open their eyes to the wide variety of ministry opportunities that are open to them in Australia and overseas, including ordination and missionary service.
- Get our churches to actively and visibly support the present ministry of missionary societies and evangelical colleges.
- Support and pray for those who have gone out from our ministries or churches into trained gospel ministries.
- Avoid public criticism of Christian ministries, denominational hierarchies, or missionary work and missionary societies. Avoid public statements about the frustrations of gospel ministry.
[1]. NIV 11.
