Westserve

The importance of training

It’s recently struck me afresh how vital training is in any gospel ministry.
By training, I mean the raising up and equipping of others for ministry. I’m trying very hard to make sure that in any ministry I’m involved with, I’m helping to train up someone else in that particular work.

It’s a real privilage to be doing that with our full time MTS apprentice at church. Tim is a very gifted and talented young man, with a genuine servant heart, and he is just drinking up the opportunities to stretch himself and try different areas of gospel work.
Seeing that in him reminded me how I lacked an “MTS Trainer” in my life when I was starting out in youth ministry in the mid 70’s. I remember very clearly the sense of being dropped in the deep end of ministry and having to swim or sink. Believe me, I nearly sunk on a number of occasions.

What’s really hit me though, is how Tim is embracing this idea and starting to train up other young people to fill his shoes in the short, medium and even long term!
This is how minstry grows and multiplies, and speaks well for the longer term health of ministry here at Toongabbie.

Of course, the other side to this is the focus it puts on me to be living out the things I’m trying to impart to others. So my life with Christ comes under the microscope in a new and quite intense way. Another challenge!

But this also providing another bonus on the side. MTS is very keen to better equip people to be MTS Trainers, and Col Marshal has written a Trainers training course called ‘The Art of Ministry Training’. We are going to be running this for people in ministry in Sydney’s Western Region in July.
I’m anticipating that this will be a great opportunity to network with some others in the region we sharpen each other’s skills and desire to train others.
But what is great news is how this course is now a standard part of the post-Moore College training that all ordained guys do in the 2-3 years after graduating!

This means that we will start seeing guys coming through the system, convinced of the importance of ministry training, and actually equipped to do it!

I’m very grateful to God for the people He has put in place to make all this happen. May it produce (directly and indirectly) a great harvest for his gospel!