We Need MORE

The Christian Leader recently highlighted shoulder-tapping as a way to meet the growing need for vocational pastors and leaders within our MB family. We believe God is already at work as MB Foundation has been able to distribute 11 LeadGen grants for interns in our MB churches this summer!  We believe there could be more. Perhaps there are some in your church who need encouragement from you.

So how should we go about calling out new leaders in our churches? I recently came across another article on shoulder-tapping from Darryl Dash which I believe gives us a start.

Here is a portion of his column:

“The place to begin is with prayer (Matthew 9:37-38). The shortage of workers is not a new phenomenon, and Jesus prescribed one way to address it. One of our constant prayers should be for more laborers: more pastors, more missionaries, more gospel workers in general. Speaking of this verse, Charles Spurgeon said, “This text is laid on my heart; it lies more on my heart than any other in the Bible; it is one that haunts me perpetually, and has done for many years.” It should probably haunt us too.

We must pray, but we must also take action. “It is a Gospel priority for pastors to train men for the ministry and that every pastor must, in some capacity, be involved in training the next generation of pastors,” writes Paul Martin, pastor of Grace Fellowship Church in Toronto. “How much heartache in our churches could be avoided if our pastors were actively mentoring their replacements!”

We can’t rely on seminaries to raise up pastors; they play a role alongside pastors who tap potential pastors on the shoulder and ask them if they have considered pastoral ministry. We have the privilege of walking alongside them and preparing future generations of pastors.

We’re facing a shortage of pastors. I’m encouraged by the quality of people God is raising, but we need more. So pray and mentor, trusting God to provide for the church as he always has.”

LeadGen provides scholarships to young adults from High School to Master’s level students who are exploring ministry leadership opportunities in our Mennonite Brethren family.

Click here to read Darryl Dash’s full article.