Pastoral Ministry

God calls a man to pastor through a settled desire for the work, the character and gifts His Word requires, and the confirmation of a local church that examines him and sets him apart.

God has set the standard for the one office of elder, bishop, and pastor in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1: a qualified man whose character, home, teaching, and reputation a local church can examine and affirm.

A pastor must take heed to himself before he can care for the flock, guarding his soul and his home, staying accountable, keeping clean in purity and money, resting as a steward, and resting most of all in Christ.

A pastor is an undershepherd of Jesus Christ who feeds the flock with God's Word, leads it by example, protects it from danger, and cares for each sheep, knowing he must give account to the Chief Shepherd.

A deacon is a proven, qualified man chosen by the congregation to serve the practical needs of the church, so that its pastors can give themselves to prayer and the Word and its people stay in unity.

A pastor leads a congregation as a servant under Christ, earning trust by his life, running honest meetings, keeping open books, developing his staff, and bringing change with patience, never lording it over the flock.

Church discipline is the loving care by which a local church teaches, corrects, and, when a professing believer will not turn from open sin, removes him from membership, always aiming to restore him to Christ and His people.

A pastor brings God's Word and the comfort of Christ to people in their real troubles, keeps confidences wisely, protects the vulnerable, works alongside doctors and licensed professionals, and gets help at once when a life is in danger.

At weddings and funerals a pastor stands beside people in their greatest joys and griefs, upholding God's design for marriage, preparing couples with care, comforting the grieving, and preaching Christ to all who listen, without claiming to know more about a soul than God has shown.

A pastor leads baptism, the Lord's Supper, and the gathered services of the church so that every act is biblical, orderly, and reverent, claims no saving power of its own, and points people to Christ.

A healthy church reproduces itself: it disciples its people, trains and ordains qualified men, and sends missionaries from the local church with prayer, money, and lasting care, so that the Gospel outlives every generation.

Church planting is a local church sending a called, proven man and a faithful team to a needy place, to win people to Christ, baptize and teach them, and gather them into a self-governing New Testament church.

A pastor finishes well by God's grace as he endures through discouragement and weariness, keeps the faith to the end, prepares his church for the next shepherd, and rests his hope in Christ, whose work alone is finished.