I have discovered that the Lay Pastors Ministry is effective not only in developing lay pastors but also in producing and opening the door to other ministries.
One pastor once confessed to me that he had tried to teach and train his people using The Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in the United States. He tried to apply its principles to his own church, but they did not work. Of course, it is difficult to take a strategy developed in the context of a church of 20,000 people and simply apply it to a church of 100 people.
But something interesting happened.
After several months of PACE ministry in his church, he tried again to introduce some of the Saddleback strategies—this time through the lay pastors. Surprisingly, they worked.
Why did they work this time?
Because the lay pastors had first learned what the church is and what ministry is.
Through PACE, they had developed a ministry mindset. They came to understand that the church is not simply a place where people gather to worship and listen to preaching. The church is a community in which every believer can participate in ministry.
Once they understood this, they were able to understand and apply other strategies that were helpful, useful, and appropriate for their own church.
In this sense, the Lay Pastors Ministry helped open their eyes to new possibilities. It introduced them to new ways of thinking, new approaches to ministry, and, most importantly, the seriousness of ministry itself.
The Ministry Engine
I sometimes call the Lay Pastors Ministry a “ministry engine.”
One of our staff members once said, “This ministry opens the door to other ministries.”
I think that is an excellent description.
Through PACE, lay pastors learn how to begin ministry, how to carry it out, and how to take responsibility for people. As they begin serving, the congregation sees that ministry actually works. They begin to think:
“If we can do this ministry, perhaps we can do other ministries as well.”
Their eyes are opened.
PACE is primarily a caring ministry. But once people begin caring for others, they start seeing needs they had not noticed before. They may discover that elderly people need special attention. They may recognize that certain individuals need particular and personal care. They may see the need for ministry to single people, young families, new believers, or people going through difficult circumstances.
One ministry leads to another.
The important thing is that people have learned how to think about ministry. They are no longer simply waiting for the pastor to create another program. They begin to see needs and ask:
“What can we do?”
That is why I call the Lay Pastors Ministry a ministry engine. It does not produce only one ministry. It can generate many other ministries.
When Caring Produces Evangelism
There is another interesting example.
After PACE training was introduced in one church, a deaconess began coming to the church early every morning. She had a small baby in her arms, yet she continued coming to the church and going out to evangelize.
The senior pastor became curious. He wondered, “Why does she come to church every morning and then go out to evangelize?”
When he asked her, she explained that through PACE training she had become deeply motivated to reach nonbelievers.
This is interesting because PACE is primarily a caring ministry, not an evangelism program.
Yet something happened inside this woman through the training. Her eyes were opened to ministry. She received new motivation and discovered another way to serve God.
This shows that ministry cannot always be limited to the category in which it begins. When people are equipped and released into ministry, God may lead them in unexpected directions.
Caring can produce evangelism.
Equipping can produce new ministries.
One ministry can become the doorway to another.
Church Growth Needs Ministry
Many pastors tell me that church growth depends on developing various ministries. I believe there is much truth in that.
Preaching is essential. Worship is essential. But preaching and worship alone are not enough to involve the whole congregation in ministry.
The problem is that many church members want to serve, but they do not know how.
They may hear, “Everyone should minister,” but they do not know where to begin. They may have compassion, gifts, energy, and willingness, but they lack a practical way to turn those qualities into ministry.
This is where the Lay Pastors Ministry becomes important.
Through PACE, people discover what ministry looks like. They learn how to begin, how to serve, how to care, how to take responsibility, and how to continue.
Once people experience ministry for themselves, something changes.
Their eyes are opened.
Their hearts are awakened.
Their gifts are activated.
Their vision becomes larger.
And when a congregation begins to see itself not merely as an audience but as a body of ministers, the church can begin to discover ministries it never imagined before.
That is the seriousness of this ministry.
The Lay Pastors Ministry is not simply another church program. It is not merely a method for visiting people or caring for members. It can become a catalyst for ministry throughout the entire church.
When ordinary believers discover that they can minister, they begin to see themselves differently.
When they begin to see needs, they begin to take initiative.
When they take initiative, new ministries emerge.
And when new ministries emerge, the church becomes what it was always meant to be—not a congregation where a few people do the ministry, but a community in which the whole body participates in the work of ministry.