INTRODUCTION

One of the highest goals of the Christian church is to prepare God’s people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up and matured spiritually (Ephesians 4:11-13).

Pastoral care of the flock of God needs to be a partnership between clergy and laity.  Lay people can pastor others.  Works of service which build up the body of Christ include the pastoral care of believers.  People must first of all be won to Christ and then cared for in various ways.  Christians need to be fed from the Word of God through preaching and teaching from the pastor.  They need to be taught and motivated by other lay persons.  They need lay role models, friends, prayer partners, fellow laborers, etc.

Pastors cannot care for all of the needs of the flock.  They cannot be the friend, role model, partner, advisor, helper, or teacher that is needed by everyone in any size congregation.

Pastors need lay ministers in their churches who will reach out to the lost, visit the sick, and nurture fellow Christians.  There are lay people in every church who are gifted and can be used of God to care for the various needs of others.

The Scriptures do not restrict pastoring or ministering to the clergy.  This is what is meant by the “Priesthood of Believers.”

1) LAITY CAN HELP CARRY A PASTOR’S LOAD

Some laity can pastor, disciple, minister, teach, etc.  Other laity gladly accept care and nurturing from spiritual lay leaders within their congregation.

Every pastor needs dedicated, mature, and spiritual lay leaders who will faithfully support their pastor, be an example to others, share the vision, and assume personal responsibility to help make certain aspects of the ministry a success.  Pastors need to be mentors and build a strong relationship with key lay leaders who will obey God and become active in ministry.

Lay leaders can make great spiritual counselors.  They often possess great empathy, positive warmth, and a genuine concern for others.

A) The Pastorhood/Priesthood of Believers

Laity are capable of ministering to people pastorally.  Pastoral care is not to be viewed simply from the framework of professionalism.  Pastoral care is a helping relationship founded upon the integrity of the one providing the care.  Laity can often relate to and confide in each other better than they can with a clergy person.

The skills necessary to minister to people’s spiritual needs are the result of the call of God and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  These skills, combined with quality training and spiritual discipline, can help all of us to be more effective for God.

It is not necessary for a person to be seminary trained in order to show empathy, warmth, concern, genuineness, integrity, or the love of Christ.  Laity can and do minister effectively in the kingdom of Christ.  One of the biggest mistakes clergy have made in the past is to try to do everything themselves.  Some people refer to their denomination as a “preacher’s church” because they have been made to feel that the only leaders or ministers are the credentialed clergy.

Church members want and need fellow laity who are in roles of spiritual leadership whom they can admire, trust, and follow.

B) What is Lay Pastoring?

Pastoring can be defined as caring for another by giving one’s self in Christian love to a relationship in times of weakness and times of strength.  Everyone needs people who care for them and who will bring into the relationship the love of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Preachers and laity are both shepherds over the flock according to their individual call.  All spiritual leaders are called by God to comfort His people.  Many Christians today cry out, as did the writer in Psalm 142:4, “There is none who takes notice of me…no man cares for me.”  People have been neglected because laity have not been allowed to obey the call of God and help care for people’s needs.

Lay ministry provides a method of involving many people in God’s work so that sheep do not fall through the cracks and get forgotten or neglected.

C) Moses Learned About Lay Ministry

Moses, the great leader that he was, was not adequately caring for God’s people.  When his father-in-law, Jethro, observed that Moses was exhausting himself in trying to hear and help all the people, he told Moses, “What you are doing is not good” (Exodus 18:17).  From the model developed by Moses we see the following principles.

  1. A wise leader disciples/mentors others to help carry the load.
  2. People will not know what to do unless they are equipped and discipled.
  3. God will raise up trustworthy men and women with a passion to do His will.
  4. In the work of God there are certain responsibilities only entrusted to the pastor.  However, there are many ministry roles available to lay leaders.
  5. Pastors and lay leaders can share the burden of ministry and together reap a far greater harvest.

We should and must depend upon the anointing of the Holy Spirit to make us effective for God.  The promise in Acts 1:8 says, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”  The power of Pentecost is for all believers. The Holy Spirit wants to equip all of us for ministry.

2) THE BIBLICAL OBJECTIVES OF LAY MINISTRY

From Ephesians chapter 4, we see some specific objectives of lay ministry.  Lay ministry allows gifted believers to equip other believers for the ministry, imparting to them stability in doctrine and practice.  There are several clear objectives or purposes of lay ministry.

A) Build Up the Body of Christ

The purpose of gifted believers is to perfect and equip God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up (Ephesians 4:12).  This shows that all believers and not just a few leaders should be involved in the ministry.  We are all to serve each other spiritually

B) Attain the Unity of the Faith

We are in this race together.  We are not alone.  We are to be in unity with others as we serve together and seek our common destination.

C) Assist People in Maturity

There is a place of knowledge and maturity for all believers and leaders.  It is “unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). As each believer functions in accord with the gifts Christ has given him/her, the body as a whole enjoys unity and becomes spiritually mature, more like Jesus Christ in all His fullness.

D) Speak the Truth in Love

By maintaining truth in love in both speech and life, believers may grow up unto Him with reference to all things. Christ is the source, the aim, and the goal of our growth and maturity.  Each member of the body is carefully fitted together and held strong.  We are a support and encouragement to each other. We must fulfill God’s call upon our lives and use our gifts to minister in love to others.

E) The Preservation of Unity is the Responsibility of All Believers

We are each one responsible for the unity of the body.  We are to respect our differences and the variety of our functions.  Paul emphasized body-growth, not only self-growth.  We are to walk in holiness and in unity.

3) THE ROLE OF A LAY LEADER/MINISTER

Spiritual lay leaders are the key to ministry success in the future.  It is impossible for pastors to carry the full load of pastoral care, evangelism, counseling, and administration.

The man or woman of God who stands before the local congregation as being responsible for the overall care of the congregation must have help.  There must be lay leaders who are actively involved doing the work of ministry on a daily basis with the focus of a small group of people or specific area of focus.

Successful churches in the twenty-first century will be those churches who focus on the involvement and training of lay leaders.  God has called laity to be involved in a leadership role in ministry.  These lay leaders, under the guidance of their pastor, provide spiritual care to people who fit into the lay leaders’ area of responsibility.  Regardless of what area of specialized ministry a lay leader selects, they all are involved in four major areas.

These areas of ministry leadership can be remembered by using the acrostic PACE.

  1. P – Pray
  2. A – Be available
  3. C – Make contact with people
  4. E – Provide an example
P – Pray

Some people may not want a visit but everyone accepts prayer.  Lay leaders should pray daily for the people in their care.  What happens when a lay leader prays regularly for people?

  • Prayer builds a deep concern.
  • Prayer builds strong relationships.
  • Prayer deepens our sense of responsibility.
  • Prayer opens the door for God to direct and inspire us to do great things for Him.
A – Available

Leaders must make themselves available and approachable.  If people have to try too many times to reach you, they give up.  If they feel uncomfortable approaching you with a need, they will avoid you and act as if everything is fine.

C – Contact

Lay leaders must see themselves as ministers and servants of God.  This servant attitude impresses us to make contact often with those we serve. In many churches today, lay leaders are becoming “Lay Pastors.”  These under-shepherds accept responsibility for the pastoral care of a certain group within the church.  The lay pastor then stays in close contact with his/her small group.

E – Example

The Apostle Paul called on Timothy to “set the believers an example” (1 Timothy 4:12).  This is the call of God upon all who will be spiritual leaders.  We are to be examples, role models, leaders in the things of God.  We are to demonstrate the character of Christ in our lives.  This means manifesting maturity, integrity, humility, faithfulness, and wisdom.

It is essential that all lay leaders be totally committed to God, to their own family, and to the area(s) of ministry in which God has called them.  Leaders must be committed to continuing education and training.  They must be accountable and loyal to those over them in the Lord.

When lay leaders fail to function effectively, when they procrastinate or behave disrespectfully reflecting a negative attitude, they should be confronted and helped.  Leadership is a serious responsibility and people need to understand from the very beginning that they will be held accountable.

Pastors should guide the congregation in showing appreciation to all lay leaders.  People need recognition and they need to know when they are doing well.  They should be affirmed for their work as well as being held accountable.

4) MENTORING PASTORS PROVIDE SUPERVISION FOR LAY LEADERS

A vital part of Lay Leadership Development is the process of supervision and mentoring.  Lay leaders need and deserve support, encouragement, and direction from their pastor.

It is the job of mentors supervising the ministry work of lay leaders, to guide laity and help them have the resources needed to accomplish goals.

The mentoring pastor’s job is not to do all the work or to sit back and wait for the lay leader to mess up, but to roll up his sleeves and help them win.  If the laity win, pastors win!

As mentoring pastors to different lay leaders, we will relate to each one individually as a situational leader.  This demands three (3) skills.

  1. Flexibility skills
  2. Diagnostic skills
  3. Contractual skills
1) Flexibility skills

A mentor must be flexible and able to use different styles of leadership with different people.  There are four basic styles of leadership needed in mentoring lay leaders.  Lay leaders then need to learn these styles so they can effectively use them in working with people.  The four basic leadership styles are as follows:

A) DIRECTING
The mentor provides specific instruction and closely supervises task accomplishment.  Directing behavior tends to be autocratic.  The mentor tells the person what, when, where, and how to do something and then closely supervises the person on the problem or task.  In this style, the mentor makes the decision and the lay leader carries out the plan.

B) COACHING
The mentor continues to direct and closely supervises the task.  The leader also explains decisions, solicits suggestions, and supports the progress.  This style combines both directive and supportive behavior from the mentor.  There will be more communication and sharing of ideas.  The mentor still makes decisions and stays in control of the task or goal.  In coaching, there is more consultation but still high levels of both direction and support.

C) SUPPORTIVE
The mentor facilitates and supports workers’ efforts toward accomplishment and shares responsibility for decision-making with them.  This style involves listening to people, providing support and encouragement for their efforts.  The behavior of the mentor in this style would be high supportive and low directive behavior.

D) DELEGATING
The mentor turns over responsibility for decision-making and problem-solving to lay leaders and tends to be low in both supportive and directive behavior. Delegation is used with people who are high in competence and high in commitment.  They are able to direct their own behavior and have the confidence and skill to achieve. Our strategy as mentors is to help people grow so that our style with them moves from directing to coaching to supporting to delegating as they develop.

2) Diagnostic skills

As mentors, we must become good at diagnosing the development level of our workers.  When we examine and evaluate a person, we look at two key ingredients that determine a person’s performance or achievement:  competence and commitment.

Competence is a function of knowledge and skills, which can be gained from education, training, and/or experience.  It is not something we are born with. It’s something we develop.

Commitment is a combination of confidence and motivation.  Confidence is a measure of a person’s self-assuredness and faith in God.  Motivation is a person’s interest in and enthusiasm for doing a task well.

Any person can range from a level of:

  • Low competence and low commitment to
  • High competence and high commitment.

Highly developed leaders (competent and committed) are hard to find.  They don’t just grow on trees.  In fact, we have to train people to be good leaders or performers and that involves good diagnostic skills.

All of us have potential that can be developed.  The mentor needs to be able to diagnose the level of development of each lay leader and know how to guide them forward.  Thus the mentor is doing for the lay leader in development what he/she cannot do for themselves at the present moment.

3) Contracting skills

Contracting is the third skill necessary for situational leadership in mentoring.  Mentoring is not something we do to people but something we do with people.

Contracting has to do with the relationship and commitment between the lay leader and the mentor.  It is about the day-to-day coaching and counseling that will take place between them.  In contracting, the mentor says to the leader, “I want you to win to achieve.  I will be available to you and help you develop.  I will see to it that you know what is expected of you and what it takes to accomplish your goals.  We will even work together to set the goals and determine the objectives which must be reached in the process.”

Contracting says, “I (the mentor) will be specific with you (the lay leader).  The goals will be measurable — and attainable.  It also means that as your mentor I will consistently evaluate my own levels of development and seek to grow along with you as you come to the place of delegated leadership responsibility.”

CONCLUSION

The pastor cannot do God’s work alone and lay leaders cannot be expected to carry a load of responsibility without being mentored.  The mentor must match the appropriate leadership style with the needs of each person (lay leader).  Lay leaders cannot be expected to assume leadership responsibility and achieve peak performance without the right kind of direction and support.  Every lay person is a potential high performer for God.  Some people just need a little more development than others along the way.

The pastor must learn how to develop people effectively if he/she wants quality help in God’s work.  The pastor cannot do it alone and laity cannot do it without the support and direction of the pastor.

When developing lay leaders, mentors need the skills of flexibility, diagnosis, and contracting.  Mentors and lay leaders can put together powerful ministry teams who can accomplish great things through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Never in human history has the church been more needed than now!  We desperately need lay leaders with a deep personal faith in God and commitment to Christian service and leadership.