This article was originally part of a paper prepared for The Gospel Coalition Australia’s National Christian Leaders Mini-Summit on the topic ‘The Future of the Gospel in Australia’ held at Moore Theological College on 19th June 2025.
It takes a village to raise a child. So it is with gospel workers. As Mikey Lynch has pointed out, a healthy gospel ecosystem is not just helpful, “it’s essential” for recruitment and training. We need a network of people, churches, and ministries working together in the formation of healthy gospel workers.
No Single Individual
The formation of gospel workers is never a solo work, it’s the fruit of many people’s encouragement, generosity, and shared labour in the Lord. Take Timothy, for example. His life shows the impact of a gospel network: the faithful nurture of his mother Eunice and grandmother Lois, the guidance of the Apostle Paul, and the encouragement of believers in his local churches (1 Tim 1). All worked together to shape him into a healthy, effective gospel worker. From high school through my (Clare’s) ministry training, God used key individuals—youth leaders, MTS apprentices, pastors, and mentors—to open my eyes to the biblical mandate to “go and make disciples” (Matt 28:18–20). Through one-to-one Bible reading, formal ministry training, and those providential taps on the shoulder, these various relationships deepened my convictions and equipped me with the competence and confidence to serve in God’s harvest field.
The same reality of a plentiful harvest but few workers persists, just as during Jesus’ earthly ministry (Matt 9:37–8). We need more gospel workers to pastor churches, revitalise struggling congregations, and plant new churches that reach fresh communities and people groups. We need more evangelists on campuses, in workplaces, in cities, and across regions proclaiming the gospel.
No Single Church, Denomination or Ministry
No gospel worker or gospel ministry serves in isolation. Romans 16 is a beautiful picture of gospel partnership. Paul names and honours many who have supported him: prayer partners, financial givers, churches that hosted him, and co-labourers who shared both the joys and the struggles of ministry. No single church, denomination, campus group, mission agency, theological college, or parachurch organisation can serve everyone.
I (James) grew up in a Chinese Uniting Church, trained in an FIEC church plant, studied at an Anglican college, and eventually became a Presbyterian candidate. The gospel thread that ran through those churches, parachurch organisations, and gospel-hearted individuals challenged, encouraged, and equipped me for vocational gospel ministry. It was the generosity of many, not just one ministry, that formed me. I once attended a prayer meeting of Anglicans who were asking God to fill their parishes and raise up more vicars. A humble, godly saint stood up and said, “If God were to use us to raise the next generation of Presbyterian ministers, praise be to God.” That’s the question we all must ask ourselves: are we raising people for the Lord’s harvest field or just for our harvest field?
1 Corinthians 3 gives us a picture that challenges tribalism and short-sightedness: “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow” (verse 6). God is the Lord of the harvest, and he is the one making converts, maturing believers and raising up workers from among them. In our recruiting and training, we are often building on the work of others; usually we won’t be the last to invest in those we train. We are co-workers in God’s service, in God’s field, building his church (verse 9).
Invest in Others and Send Them Out
When I (James) was in the Chinese Uniting Church, my pastor encouraged me to seek training elsewhere because he knew the church wasn’t well positioned to train me at that time. They invested in me, knowing I would likely never return; they wanted the gospel to go further than their own reach. Are we willing to send out those we’ve poured ourselves into, so they can take the gospel somewhere else and bless others? Are we prepared to take the hit in our own ministry so the gospel can go beyond our church, our denomination, our campus, even to the ends of the earth?
The harvest is plentiful. How are we going at praying to the Lord of the harvest for workers? How are we going at calling others to join us in the field? How are we going at working with those who plant, those who water, and those who send?
