I was sitting with a visiting pastor at our annual Church Conference listening to the introduction of several new candidates for ordained ministry – the latest additions to a long list of people from our congregation who are already in various stages of the candidacy process – when she leaned over and said how impressed she has always been with Resurrection’s intentionality in raising up new leaders for the Church. My response was, “Me, too!”
This aspect of our culture is no accident, but it’s also not magic. Any church can do it.
For us, it begins at the top. Our senior pastor sees raising up new pastoral leaders as an important and necessary role of every local church – enough to speak about it in quantifiable terms, estimating that as many as 200 people from Resurrection might experience a call to vocational ministry before he retires. Of course, God will call who God will call, and having an estimate does not mean we would ever do anything to pressure anyone. Nevertheless, having a tangible vision of what God might do inspires anticipation, keeps us attentive, and leads to practical support and simple actions that prompt our members – from a very young age – to consider the possibility of being a pastor.
3rd Grade Bible Presentation
Like many churches, we give every child a Bible when they enter 3rd grade. These are presented to the children in worship, and during the presentation, our pastors talk not only about the Bible and the importance of reading it, but they also always incorporate the suggestion that some of the children present could someday be pastors.
Confirmation
Every year, prior to the formal Confirmation ceremony, our Senior Pastor addresses our confirmands. Among other things, this includes sharing his personal story, but it also always includes the topic of vocational ministry. Students meet in small groups throughout the Confirmation process, so they are typically sitting in their groups for this talk. After sharing his own experience and describing some of the gifts and aptitudes that lend themselves well to effective pastoral ministry, he will suggest again that there could be multiple future pastors in the room. Then, before closing in prayer, he will invite all the students to point to a person in their group they think could one day be a pastor.
Young Adults
Rarely do our senior leaders, particularly our Senior Pastor, address our youth groups, young adult gatherings, or the unique cohort we call Emerging Leaders without mentioning the possibility that some of them might be called by God to vocational ministry.
Worship
At least once a year, if not more often, our entire congregation is encouraged from the pulpit to consider pastoral ministry. Whether it’s woven into a sermon or is among the themes of a sermon series, we are invited not only to discern for ourselves but also to consider whether anyone else we know might be a candidate.
All of this has the effect of elevating and normalizing vocational ministry as a possibility most would not otherwise consider. More importantly, though, experience has shown that the seeds planted by these simple actions produce a harvest of ministry candidates to celebrate during our Church Conference every year!
How do you – or how could you – plant these seeds in your church?
Jonathan Bell is our ShareChurch Leadership Resources Specialist. He is passionate about helping people and churches live out their faith in the world and helps strengthen other churches by equipping their leaders with ideas, tools, resources and training. He loves being married to his wife Angie and doing just about anything with their six kids. He particularly enjoys hiking mountains, catching fish, baking, holding babies, serving others, and growing things.