The 4E Ministry Training Strategy
Note: You’re reading Part Two of a three part blog mini-series introducing four how-to’s of equipping. Read Part One, Want to Change Lives?
Everyone Wants to Change Lives
The pastors, para-church ministry leaders, and lay leaders I consult with and equip are hungry for a comprehensive, practical approach to equipping God’s people for one another ministry. They want to empower others for the personal ministry of the Word—whether as lay counselors, care-givers, spiritual friends, spiritual directors, elders, deacons, small group leaders, care group shepherds, disciplers, or mentors.
Leaders want to change lives. However, for most leaders the training process can seem overwhelming—vision casting confusion, change management struggles, enlisting support disappointments, quality of care matters, training material questions, supervisory difficulties, legal issues, and many other legitimate, complex concerns often derail the equipping process.
As I speak in churches about one another ministry, lay people share with me their rejection of the old model where the pastoral staff hoards the ministry. They’re clamoring to be unleashed and mobilized for the personal ministry of the Word.
Lay people want to change lives. They care, but they feel ill-equipped to care like Christ. They want to know what to do after the hug. They know the Bible says they’re competent (Romans 15:14), but they also understand their biblical need to be equipped to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:11-16).
Been There, Done That!
The 4E Ministry Training Strategy offers a 21st Century best-practices manual for Christ-centered, church-based, comprehensive, culturally-informed mobilization of the priesthood of all believers. It assists churches to become places not simply with one another ministry, but of one another ministry; not simply with small groups or lay biblical counseling ministries, but of small groups and of biblical counseling. The goal is not the production of yet another program or yet another ministry on the sidelines. The goal is the promotion of a congregation-saturated mindset of every member passionate about and equipped for one another ministry.
It’s a “nice” goal, right? But we both know that you’ve “been there, done that.” You’ve heard the promises before. Lots of theoretical talk, but little practical, real-world, biblical help. You’re tired of equipping approaches that promise much but deliver little.
Some equipping “models” are like straight-jackets with a one-size-fits-all approach. The 4E Ministry Training Strategy has been implemented in mega-churches and small churches; it’s been employed in rural, suburban, and urban churches; and it’s been used in a wide diversity of ethic and multi-ethnic churches. It provides practical principles to be personally, relationally, and uniquely applied in your specific ministry setting.
Some equipping “models” offer piece-meal advice that address aspects of lay equipping, but lack a comprehensive strategy to move from launch to leaving a legacy of loving leaders. The 4E Ministry Training Strategy moves through the four stages that every ministry launch must address to establish ministries built to last and to grow ministries from good to great. Its Christ-centered, church-based, comprehensive, and culturally-informed focus will empower you to:
Envision God’s Ministry
Enlist God’s Ministers for Ministry
Equip Godly Ministers for Ministry
Employ/Empower Godly Ministers for Ministry
The Rest of the Story
Sorry…today is just the “tease.” Come back tomorrow for the rest of the story. We’ll paint the big picture of “Passing the Baton of Ministry.” You’ll learn how to run the four laps in the relay that results in leaving a legacy of loving leaders.
Join the Conversation
What have been some of your frustrations in trying to become equipped to equip others?
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