Equipping The Laity For Ministry

Every church has far more work than any one person can do. Even a team of professionals is not enough. The New Testament solution was for every member to be a minister. Though the priesthood of all believers was a key idea in the Reformation, it is little practised today. Following secular models, churches usually organize around the clergy, who are paid by the laity to do the ministry. Paul Stevens argues that, according to Scripture, the primary task of a Christian leader is not to do the work but to equip the saints to do it. Exploring new options for pastors, tentmakers and laypeople, this book provides structures and strategies to best equip all the saints for ministry.

Experts on congregational life tell us that ministry in the next century will depend more on called, trained, and committed lay leadership than it has since the days of the early church. But how will congregations recruit these lay leaders? How will they develop new models for training and equipping them for all the ministries of the church? What will the role of clergy be in adopting this new partnership that Leonard Sweet calls "ancient-future ministry"? Equipping the Saints seeks to help congregational leaders answer these and other questions related to mobilizing lay ministry in the years ahead. The chapters include: "Shall We Abolish the Clergy or the Laity?" by Michael Christensen; "Team Building Through Spiritual Gifts" by Brian Bauknight; "The Loss and Recovery of the Biblical Basis for Ministry" by Russell Moy; "Out of the Pew, Into the World" by Jessica Moffat; "The Seeker Service in the Mainline Church" by Eric Park; "Circuit Riding in the 21st Century" by Rob Duncan; and, "Life Together: Reclaiming the Ministry of Small Groups" by Christine Anderson. Key Features: - Responds to emerging trends that promise to be determinative of the shape of ministry in the next century - Addresses an important practical need in congregations - Offers help in formulating new models for congregational ministry Key Benefits: - Readers will understand the important emerging need for called, trained, and committed laypersons to engage in ministry - Readers will learn how to recruit and train lay leaders - Readers will identify a new model of clergy/lay ministry partnership

Stevens shows how churches today can be faithful to the New Testament model of every-member ministry. Specifically he focuses on how the laity can teach and learn the Bible, conduct small groups, pastor the sick and hurting, lead worship, evangelize neighborhoods and more. (Evangelism)

A distinguished historian, academic and occasional evangelist I know was hushed by his stunned wife after he said to a friend he was visiting in the hospital, "I hope you don't die." A sentiment delivered sincerely but oh-so-awkwardly. Expressing care to someone in need--whether within the community of faith or beyond--may seem the most natural thing in the world. For some, it is; for others, it's less so. All can improve. Learn to reach out with God's love and care for others as outlined in this practical book. Farabaugh offers a systemic path for pastoral care using the gifts of the laity in the church. "At a district Council on Ministries' meeting, our conversation focused on the realization that most of the clergy had no assistance in the area of pastoral care and felt overwhelmed by their many, sometimes conflicting, responsibilities," writes Farabaugh. "Most of the churches did not train anyone in caring ministries. Today it is time for clergy and laity to partner in caring for one another." Unique to this course is the ongoing training and accountability meetings outlined for those in this invaluable ministry. During the monthly meetings, participants report on what they have learned and also study aspects of caring for situations and conditions of life, such as illness, suffering, grief and loss. Leader's Guide: Leading in Lay Pastoral Care

As a senior pastor and former deacon, Dr. James H. Taylor, III, has many years of experience with the "grain of tradition" paradigm of rural ministry. His passion to make a contribution to the betterment of rural ministry through the equipping of laity for servant leadership and excellence in ministry, lies within this vital resource. This book, which is part research project and part servant leadership resource equipping guide, provides the theological foundation, state of the art in servant leadership and step by step training modules for equipping the laity for the role of servant leader.. This book explores basic leadership principles and contrasts leadership and servant leadership and its intricate and important role in excellence in ministry. The ten module training guide systematically unfolds laity's spiritual undergirding in preparation for embracing the ranks of servant leadership, specifically the diaconate. This resource will benefit any church who desire to better equip its laity for servant leadership and strive for excellence in ministry. Dr. James H. Taylor, III is the senior pastor of the Race Street Baptist church in historic Farmville, VA. He is a graduate of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology in Richmond, Virginia. and the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.

"This project was designed to begin the process of equipping laity for ministry in the local church. It was not a training program for a specific area of ministry, rather, it was a pre-ministry training experience to help people discover their strengths and abilities and how these would influence their work in the church. The project was designed to address the problem of lack of lay involvement in the church and clarify the biblical responsibilities of the clergy and laity in Church ministry"--Abstract.

The authors draw on their combined experience to create an exciting model of congregational leadership that understands congregations as relational systems. Learn how relational processes can liberate members for ministry and mission in the world and release pastors for appropriate leadership.