Peter Adam
2025
1. Why nurture the growth of future vocational gospel ministers?
Christ’s command:
‘Make disciples of all nations …’ [Matthew 28:19].
[Lord Jesus, you commanded your disciples to make disciples of all nations. Please help us to do this among the 3 billion people of our world who have not heard of you.][1]
Christ’s prayer:
‘Our Father in heaven, make your name holy, bring your kingdom, do your will, on earth, as in heaven’ [Matthew 6:9-10].
[God our heavenly Father, your Son told us to ask you to reveal your holy name, bring your kingdom, and do your saving will on earth. Please answer these big prayers; do this work in our day, and complete it when Christ returns in glory.]
Christ’s atoning death:
‘You were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation’ [Revelation 5:9].
[Lord Jesus, we praise you for your powerful blood, by which you purchased and redeemed people from every tribe and language and people and nation. Please help us to tell all people of your saving work, as our slain and risen Lamb.]
Christ’s messengers:
Jesus said: ‘Anyone who welcomes you, welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me’ [Matthew 10:40].
Paul wrote: ‘How can they call on the one they have not believed in? How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? How can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?’ [Romans 10:14,15].
[Lord Jesus, you have called your people to be your messengers. Please shape our lives, and open our mouths, that we may speak of you and your glorious gospel.]
Christ’s call:
‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field’ [Matthew 9:38,39].
[Gracious God, Father of all mercies, we pray, as your Son told us to pray, that you would raise up workers for your harvest field and send them out to tell people of the glory of your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and his saving death and resurrection, and call people to repent and believe in him.]
Christ’s plan:
‘You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth’ [Acts 1:8].
‘Lord Jesus, we grieve that there are so many unreached people groups, gospel-poor nations, and language groups without a translated Bible. Please give all your churches and ministries in this world a global gospel vision, your global gospel challenge, and global gospel prayers.’
Christ’s gospel team:
[Paul writes]: ‘Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow-workers in Christ Jesus … Urbanus, our fellow-workers in Christ … Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord…’ [Romans 16:3,9,12].
‘You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And 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’ Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus [2 Tim 2:1-3].
[Lord Jesus, please raise up a mighty army of men and women, gospel workers, teachers and preachers for gospel work in Australia, and overseas.’
Christ’s triumph:
‘a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb … they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb”’ [Revelation 7:9,10].
‘Lord Jesus, we praise you now for this great vision of your triumph, your glory and of your great saving work in our world. Please energise and encourage us and our churches and ministries to serve your glory. Amen.’
2. How can we nurture the growth of future vocational gospel ministers?
What are the key Biblical ingredients in the life of a church or ministry which are likely to produce a pool of people who would be suitable and ready for full-time training to be Gospel workers?
[Note that *** signifies elements which are often strangely absent from contemporary evangelical ministry.][2]
Churches and ministries which have a corporate life, prayer life, and Christian culture which encourages members:
To pray constantly for God’s global gospel harvest, and pray for conversions through their own ministry. To pray constantly that the Lord of the harvest would send out workers into his global harvest field. [Make known among the nations what God has done. Psalm 105:1].
To be converted to Christ. They know the gospel, have assurance of salvation, pray, live gradually transformed lives, trust the Scriptures, love others, belong to the church, and share their faith. [Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. Acts 16:31].
To be converted to God’s global gospel plan. ***If people have been converted to an individualistic gospel [‘It’s all about me’], they need to be converted to the big Bible gospel: God’s plan for the world, and God’s plan for the church. This means that they won’t ask, ‘Do I have to belong to the church?’ and, ‘Do I have to evangelise others?’. They will know that the gospel is most often described in the Bible as God’s plan for the church and for the world, not God’s plan for individuals. [You are a chosen people … that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Pet 2:9].
To belong to the church or ministry. They are committed to belonging and serving, and relate well to all different sorts of people. They use their gifts, and are also happy to do ordinary practical tasks as well! [Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is part of it. 1 Cor 12:27].
To be discipled as believers. *** They have been discipled, not just converted. [Make disciples of all nations. Matt 28:19; That we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. Col 1:28; In everything we will grow up to become in every respect the mature body … of Christ. Ephes 4:15].
- ***They are trained to live as believers: to study the Bible; to have a good basic theology; to live as an active member of the church or ministry, to relate well to family, friends, people at work, and neighbours; to share their faith; to set realistic goals for their lives and to achieve them; to cope with pain, loss and illness; to plan their living and giving, to support mission partners; to be good citizens.
- ***They are trained to pray: to pray, give thanks, praise, lament, grieve and intercede; to repent, and confess their sins; to pray with others; to regard prayer as part of ministry; to have a ministry of praying with people; and to join public prayer as often as possible!
- ***They are trained die to sin and live to righteousness; to constantly grow in godliness and sanctification; to constantly reform their lives and ministries by the Bible. They are open to correction, learning, and personal transformation.
- ***They learn to suffer in order to follow Christ, to serve the church, to serve the gospel. They learn both the cost and dignity of suffering and serving, following Christ. [Even the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve… Mk 10:45].
- ***They are trained to engage in positively in effective mutual ministry, the ‘one-another’ ministry that all members of a church should do. They have learnt to serve others in humility, respect and love; to do humble tasks for others and for the church; to pray for and with others; to use their gifts for the common good; to encourage others in their lives and ministries with Bible truths; to receive and welcome other believers; to receive rebuke and to rebuke others; to be humble about their gifts, and to delight in the privilege of serving others. [Let the message of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom… Col 3:16].
- ***Some may also need basic training in organising their lives, keeping appointments, using their money and time responsibly, personal hygiene and health, clothes, life-style, diet and exercise, planning and setting goals and achieving them.
To learn the full range of the Biblical revelation in theology, life, ministry and evangelism. They don’t just find the irreducible practical minimum, but look for the maximum that God has revealed. [We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit brings. Col 1:9]. For example:
- God’s global gospel. As above. ***
- The Biblical gospel is bigger than our short summary! *** For example: not only did Jesus bear our sins, suffer our punishment, bear God’s wrath for us: he also saved us from his own wrath, ‘the wrath of the Lamb’ [Rev 6:16,17]; brought us into the presence of God [Heb 10:19-22]; washed us clean, purified us from our sin [1 Jn 1:7,9]; washed us in rebirth and renewal by his Holy Spirit [Tit 3:5]; set us free from our ‘empty way of life’ [1 Pet 1:18]; broke the power of the devil and death [Heb 2:14]; joined together Jews and Gentiles in one new humanity [Ephes 2:16]; made his church holy, washing her to present her to himself without spot or blemish, but holy and blameless [Ephes 5:25-27]; and enabled us to die to sin [Rom 6:4-14].
- The message of the Bible is bigger than the Gospel. *** The OT not only promises the Christ to come, it also gives the basic revelation which the NT and the NT Gospel assume. This includes: There is only one God, creator of everything. God created humanity in his image. God provides every good gift that sustains the life of humanity. Humanity is sinful, but still bears signs of its created dignity. Humanity must worship and serve God the only creator, not his creation. God has a special people, distinct from the rest of humanity. Yet God also has a good plan for all the nations of the world. God wants to live among his people, but can only do so by providing priests and atoning sacrifices. God is not just concerned with right rituals, but also in every part of the daily lives of his people. God wants his people to love him withal their heart, soul and strength, and also their neighbours as themselves. God deals with individuals, as well as with his people. God appoints his agents to minister to his people: priests, prophets, judges, and kings. There will be the ‘last days’ when God’s kingdom comes in its fulness. This bigger Biblical message is assumed and endorsed by Jesus and fulfilled in his incarnation, ministry, death, resurrection, ascension, his heavenly reign, and his return.
Without it, we forget that we should be constantly thankful to God for every gift of creation; that many people we talk to do not have this theological background, and we may need to start at a more basic level than the gospel [As Paul does in Acts 14:14-18, 17:16-34]. Not every unbeliever is trying to justify themselves by good works! We might also fail to recognise that God enjoys racial and cultural diversity, [3] and so try to make our converts in our racial and cultural image, not the image of Christ.
We will also miss the important lessons of wisdom, for example in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, and all the human experience and varied responses to God found in the Psalms.
- Gospel orthodoxy is not enough! ***According to Titus 1, the morality and character and relational and organisational ability of prospective elder is of great importance, as is their practical ability to teach and refute. And those who minister without love are nothing, and their ministry is worth nothing. [Without love: I am nothing… I gain nothing. 1 Cor 13:2,3].
- Prayerfulness is a key attribute. *** Certainly, it was in Paul’s ministry. My ‘Even Newer Perspective’© on Paul is that he was a constant pray-er, and occasionally preached, taught, or wrote a letter! His self-description is that of constant prayer and thanksgiving: e.g., how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times. Rom 1:9,10; we have not stopped praying for you. Col 1:9; we … continually mention you in our prayers. 1 Thess 1:2; and I constantly remember you in my prayers. 2 Tim 1:3. Paul is constantly praying!
To do ministry in their current context: They are being trained to do those ministries, getting feedback on these ministries, and getting ‘in-service training’ while doing these ministries. [Such as teaching others, praying with others, reading the Bible in church, leading ministries, serving in ministry teams, giving Bible talks, leading prayer meetings, preaching, leading services, doing evangelism, serving on the church council, cleaning the toilets, etc].
… Possibly … [To serve as an apprentice or trainee, 2 or 3 days a week, or full-time to learn to work {to plan, implement, take responsibility, to learn, to receive in-service training, to discover how to function as a public person with responsibility for ministry, and to discover and develop skills and confidence in doing ministry}]. This requires a competent Supervisor and Trainer, and a clear ministry responsibility agreement. The other days of the week could be spent in earning a wage/doing some study at a Bible or Theological College. The more ministry and ministry responsibility someone has undertaken, the more motivation they have for their college studies, and the more they benefit from them. This also serves as a useful test of the person’s suitability for vocational gospel ministry: it helps them, and also enables informed feedback from their Supervisor.
To be able to learn using the training wheels which are useful to get going in ministry, [such as in evangelism, leading a Bible study, preaching], but then being able to dispense with them, and be creative and adaptable in ministry; and not condemn those who use different training wheels! ***
To learn emotional and cultural awareness [‘intelligence’]. *** This is necessary with white Australia, as there are so many white Australian cultures and sub-cultures; the gaps between them get wider and wider; people’s identity is increasingly defined by their sub-culture; people are naturally critical of other sub-cultures, and sub-cultures are constantly changing. And, of course, emotional and cultural awareness is needed for white Australians in relating to indigenous Australians, and to immigrants, as well as for ministry overseas. There are also different sub-cultures within denominations, churches, and mission societies!
Six Furthermores!
- ***This nurturing of the church or ministry is also crucial to train and prepare people who will lead in the church’s or ministry’s own future.
- Enabling future vocational gospel workers needs to be part of the church’s or ministry’s vision and plan, but not as to discourage or devalue others. The challenge is to encourage people into vocational gospel ministry without demeaning the daily work and life of everyone else! But even slaves are serving the Lord Christ, according to Paul in Colossians 3:24.
- People will be encouraged into vocational gospel ministry if: the church or ministry gives financial support for its current mission partners; if it provides traineeships or ministry apprentices; *** if it invests in training future gospel workers; ***if it offers financial and prayer support for those doing training for future gospel ministry.
- A church or ministry must demonstrate gospel generosity, not just its own growth and future. *** It must delight in sending out gospel workers to other churches, networks, denominations, ministries, both in Australia, and also overseas.
- We should support training for future vocational gospel ministry at the tertiary level, as we need gospel workers who can function at that level. ***Our colleges need our financial and prayer support, ***as also do the students, not only for their fees, but also their living expenses to cover loss of income.
- ***We also need to find ways to training people for future vocational ministry at the TAFE level, as Bible Colleges used to do, as most Australians have not attended university [70%!], and TAFE-level trained students are very well suited to working in with the vast majority of people in the Majority world. This is an essential ingredient in our gospel eco-system which needs to be created and supported. [The Vocational Bible College in Sydney trains people for gospel ministry through VET sector training. https://www.vbc.edu.au/].
- In this section, each quotation from the Bible [NIV11], is followed by a prayer. This is because when God speaks to us through the Bible, it is both appropriate and polite to respond to him in prayer. He speaks to us: we speak to him! He speaks to us: we answer him! ↑
- They are some of my current hobby-horses! ↑
- See Steven M Bryant, Cultural Identity and the Purposes of God: A Biblical Theology of Ethnicity, Nationality, and Race, Wheaton, Crossway, 2022. ↑