During the past six years, I have visited approximately 150 churches and trained around 850 lay pastors to serve in the PACE Ministry. This has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my ministry.
The PACE Ministry brings satisfaction to both senior pastors and lay pastors. Senior pastors often testify that their pastoral burden becomes much lighter because the responsibility for caring for people is shared with trained lay ministers. At the same time, lay pastors discover great joy in participating in a meaningful ministry that advances the Kingdom of God. Rather than remaining passive church members, they become active partners in pastoral care.
Through these years of training, I have observed something interesting: approximately 10 percent of a congregation seems to possess the gifts needed for this kind of caring ministry. For example, in a church of 100 members, about 10 people will usually respond to an invitation to become lay pastors. This suggests that pastoral care is not simply a skill that everyone naturally possesses. It is also a spiritual gift given to certain believers.
Some people attend the training simply because they are interested in learning about the ministry. They complete the training, but after they begin serving, they soon stop. Why? They discover that they do not have a genuine gift or passion for caring for others.
This is an important lesson. Learning the principles of pastoral care is valuable, but effective pastoral care requires more than knowledge. It requires a caring heart. It requires compassion, mercy, encouragement, and a genuine desire to serve people. That is why I understand the PACE Ministry as a gift-oriented ministry, not merely a skill-oriented program.
At the end of the Training Manual, participants complete a motivation checklist that measures their desire to serve. Most participants rate themselves around seven on a ten-point scale. Usually, only one or two people rate themselves nine or ten.
Those who rate themselves ten are expressing something deeper than enthusiasm. They are saying, in effect, “I want to serve in this ministry for the rest of my life.”
These highly committed people are especially important to the development of the Ministry Leadership Group (MLG). They not only practice the PACE Ministry faithfully themselves but also want to see the ministry flourish throughout their church. They encourage other lay pastors, help organize the ministry, and work closely with the senior pastor to strengthen the caring ministry of the congregation.
This is how lay leadership develops.
However, becoming a lay leader requires more than enthusiasm. Enthusiasm may begin a ministry, but faithfulness sustains it. A person’s commitment, spiritual maturity, faithfulness, and loyalty to the church must be demonstrated over time.
As men and women continue to serve faithfully, they gradually become trusted lay leaders. They grow not only as workers in a program but as true disciples of Jesus Christ. They become people whom the pastor can trust and partners whom the church can depend upon.
In this sense, PACE is doing more than providing pastoral care. PACE is developing people.
A church may begin with a few people who simply want to help. Through training, serving, encouragement, and faithful practice, some of them gradually grow into leaders. They begin by caring for one or two people, but eventually they begin caring about the whole ministry of the church.
This may be one of the greatest fruits of the PACE Ministry.
The goal is not simply to have more lay pastors. The deeper goal is to raise up faithful lay leaders who will serve the church for many years.
When pastors share pastoral care with trained lay ministers, the pastor’s burden becomes lighter. When lay pastors discover their gifts and begin to serve, their faith becomes active. And when faithful lay pastors grow into mature leaders, the entire church becomes healthier.
Therefore, the PACE Ministry is not simply a program for distributing pastoral responsibilities.
It is a pathway for developing lay leadership.
And ultimately, it is a way of helping ordinary believers discover that they are not merely members of the church.
They are servants, disciples, and partners in the ministry of Jesus Christ.