Training church members for effective ministry

Terry Powell March 5, 2025

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Mason Roberts said, "When you get 100 individuals to do 1% more than they would have done without you, you've created a new life." When it comes to ministry endeavors of church members, that's an exciting concept!

Equipping for service
As a pastor or associate staff member, an enviable part of your calling consists of "equipping the saints for the work of service" (Eph. 4:11-12). The word for "equip" in verse 12 also referred to a fisherman repairing his net, and to a first-century physician who reset a broken limb. It meant to repair, to restore, to prepare for greater usefulness.

Though Bible instruction is integral to a church leader's role, equipping for ministry has a more distinctive function. It involves skills training or "how-to teaching" that has an enabling outcome for members' ministry within the church or community. Some forms of training may also enable members to practice better stewardship of their time, money, and relationship responsibilities. Whether a trainer works with an individual or a group, he or she demonstrates and models the competency they want to reproduce in others.

To enhance your church's training ministry, consider these suggestions.

Staff or church board brainstorming

Set aside 30-60 minutes to discuss these questions. Ask someone to take thorough notes so no ideas are lost.

• What are some skills or competencies needed by lay leaders within our church? (Think of elders, age-level Bible teachers, small group leaders, youth volunteers, etc.)
• To facilitate their spiritual growth, in what ways do all church members need training? (Money management/budgeting, giving a personal testimony, establishing a personal quiet time, how to study God's Word, etc.)
• What kinds of training do married couples and parents of school-age children need? (For example, conflict management and leading in family worship.)
• What new program strategies or relationship initiatives on the part of leaders may be needed to enhance the training of members?
• Who are some qualified resource people in our church or community who could assist with specialized training initiatives? (Example: a Christian financial advisor could assist in helping people get out of debt and improve their money management.)
• Ask each person who's responsible for a specific age-level or target group ministry this question: What support or resources do you need from the church to better facilitate the training of those you serve?

Equip instead of expose

When it comes to instilling competencies in people, less is sometimes more. Avoid the tendency to cover too much material in one meeting, or to proceed too rapidly through a skill set in a training session.

Practice time needed:In a church setting, I attended a 12-week adult class on "Learning To Study the Bible." The associate staff member focused on one Bible study method in each session: researching passage background & context; observation of key facts; basic interpretation principles; how to apply a passage, key word studies, handling difficult or controversial texts, and so on.

He did a good job simplifying for lay adults what he had learned in seminary. Yet he didn't build in time within training sessions for them to work on each method. Nor did he give brief homework assignments on each method, with the opportunity to discuss their work the following week before launching a new method. (When I taught a similar class, in the church's promotion I asked for a commitment of 30-40 minutes of weekly homework.)

Structure for practicing a skill:What if he had covered six methods instead of 12, devoting every other week to examine Scripture together in a way that gave an opportunity to practice what he had covered the week before? Or what if he had invited participants to meet with him outside of class to become more proficient in implementing a study method? (Or have we become too busy to invest in individuals in this manner?)

Show instead of tell

I attended a nationally advertised Christian Education conference, choosing a workshop titled, "Better Bible Discussions." The only instructional method employed during the 60-minuite session was lecture. Not once did the workshop leader pose a question or creatively involve us in any other manner. Not once did he demonstrate or model the interactive approach that he urged us to develop.

In any training session, our methodology must match the message we're delivering. That's especially vital if we're training teachers or small group leaders. The learning process we employ is as important to their training as the information we're trying to convey about a given teaching method or group skill. Why? Because it's difficult to acquire a skill without first observing a model.

We're more likely to do what we see, not what we hear.

Let's train new small group leaders by inviting them to attend twice in the group you lead, then meet with them individually to debrief about what they observed. (How did you establish a warm, hospitable climate within the group? What characterized the Bible study questions you asked?)

Let's train children's workers on how to teach Bible memory verses to their kids by playing a memory game with the kids' teachers. Let them experience what you want them to do. (If possible, use a memory verse that their curriculum calls for in a future session.)

May the Lord honor your attempts to add to His labor force!

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Dr. Terry Powell is Faculty Emeritus at Columbia International University, in S. C., where he is an Adjunct Professor in Church Ministries. Dr. Powell writes a blog on faith and depression entitled Penetrating the Darkness. He is the author of Serve Strong,which helps volunteers as well as vocational Christian workers combat discouragement, persevere through weariness, and cultivate endurance for the long haul. Learn More »

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