Section 05 - Ministry Training

Basically what you need to learn is best expressed in the words, 'How To'. Theory however usually tends to teach you 'What To'. So there needs to be a move to 'How To', even though both are still part of theoretical training.

You are learning principles, so as you come to be trained for ministry your first foundation should be a grounding in Bible Doctrine.

That is what we offer in our Training School, and we hope that this introductory series on ministry training will help you to realize that a foundation in the Word is very important.

Presenting the Word

As you become grounded in the doctrines of the Word, you will also need extra training on how to actually do the work of the ministry. So what is the first important thing you should learn? You need to learn how to present the Word.

It is not enough to only know a lot about the Word. You should know how to present that knowledge to other people.

This never comes automatically. The world is full of people who have great knowledge, but they cannot take that knowledge and impart it to others.

They may be able to do this in a classroom, where students are forced to listen to a boring teacher; someone who just spouts what he or she has learned.

You need to know how to present the Word. But before you can do that, you need to learn the Word. That is why you must start with Bible Doctrine.

You cannot move into the phase of presenting the Word practically, until you are trained on how to do this. This includes some knowledge of human nature, because you should learn how different people react.

People have different temperaments and natures. You should understand this before you try to present the Word, because they will all respond in different ways.

Part of the training then is on how to speak, teach and preach. The practical side will deal with this in detail, but you must start with the theory first.

Influencing Others

You also need to know how to influence others. You might be able to talk to people and tell them what you know. You might think you can teach the Word and you have all the Scriptures memorized. You could quote them one after the other.

You might be able to take anyone who will listen and speak to them for hours. But when they walk away, what effect did you have on them? Did they say?

"Wow, she has such Bible knowledge. I am impressed. I wish I knew that much about the Word."

Perhaps you influenced them to like you, but is this really what you wanted to do? Certainly not! You want to influence people for the Lord, because that is what ministry is.

How can you learn to do that? You can learn from people who have practiced it. You can also learn some of the theory of how to go about it.

You must not only impart knowledge, but do it in such a way that they are affected by it and their lives are changed. In the end it will take more than your words and actions to bring change to someone. It will take both the External and Internal Anointing of God to do this.

It Takes the Internal Anointing

When you go through more studies on that subject, you will find that the Internal Anointing is used more to influence people than the External Anointing. It opens their hearts to receive from you and from the Lord.

What is the main effect that you want to create in others? You want to reproduce yourself in them. You want to take everything that God has done in you and duplicate it in them.

All of these are things you should be learning in your ministry training. So if your training takes you no further than just learning the doctrines of the Bible, you will fail in ministry.

You must learn how to present the Word in a way that is interesting and people want to receive it. You must learn to present it in a way that it will change their lives. You must learn how to take everything that God has done in you and pour it into somebody else.

Until you can reproduce in them what God did in you, you will not be effective in ministry. You should learn all of this in your theoretical ministry training.

These subjects should all be covered in the studies that you do in a ministry training course. They will be covered in the training series that we are offering to prepare you for the work of the ministry. But that is still not enough.

Once you have learned all of these things, how do you go about putting them into practice? Will you be like a professional, fresh out of university and with all the degrees?

Such a person steps into the workplace, and probably has an office with his name on the door. But he does not know how to do the job yet. He can sit there with his name up and all the qualifications listed behind his name.

People may respect and look up to him or her. But what effect is this person having on the lives of others? This does not come automatically.

Learning to Evangelize

I remember the first time I learned all about evangelism and how to lead souls to the Lord.

I got really excited about it and studied all the theory and the Scriptures. I learned how to handle arguments and everything I would need. I had a head full of knowledge.

Fortunately the pastor of the church I was in at that time had a real emphasis on Evangelistic Ministry. He insisted that everyone should have a turn to go out onto the streets on a Saturday morning to evangelize the lost.

That meant going out into public, speaking to complete strangers and trying to lead them to the Lord. Have you ever tried to do that?

I had seen people doing this, and watched videos of people doing it. I had learned it in theory from books. But now I was being forced to put that theory into practice.

You Need a Kick From Behind

It is a bit like learning to swim. You may have figured out what to do in the water, but sometimes you need someone to kick you from behind to make you fall into the water.

You probably start off floundering and almost drowning. But you suddenly remember all the principles you learned, and you give them a try.

You may have hated the person who pushed you in. But afterwards you were glad that they did it, because now you learned some practical ways of doing things.

Ministry is very much like this. Having the theory is not enough. You may have the theory and the titles and letters behind your name.

You may have advertised yourself as an expert. But do not think that people will be knocking down your doors and asking you to minister to them. They will not do it.

Perhaps you have the idea that you should just get qualified enough and increase your knowledge, until you are an expert at ministry. You want to come to the place where people will recognize your position and knowledge.

Do you think that people will then flock to you so that you can do the work of the ministry? It will not happen.

You need somebody to teach you how to do this ministry. You need experimental knowledge. We will get to that shortly.

Working Person to Person

The first thing you must learn is how to work person to person. I remember when I first felt the call to the ministry. I had visions based on what I had seen on TV and in videos.

The evangelist would stand up, roll up his sleeves and declare that he was going to pray for the sick. He would call for a healing line to form so that he could pray for each one.

The great man of God would then lay his hands on the people. He would pray the prayer of faith, and miracles would begin to take place.

I could see myself doing that. I could see myself standing in front of crowds of people. They were coming forward to receive the healing power of God, which I was going to minister to them.

It was an exciting idea, and I had big visions of rising up in the public eye and becoming a great man of God.

Many people think something similar when they go to university. They think that their degrees and qualifications will automatically put them into a position of being an influence to others.

In actual fact it always starts by you influencing only one person. Probably the first 'bubble' that was burst in you when you tried to do the work of the ministry, was that you could not find anyone to minister to.

Perhaps you only had your family members. How boring is that! But you must learn to minister to every single person one at a time. You must practice all the things that you learned by working person to person.

You do not start full blown with a public ministry, moving in signs and wonders, and having your name splashed everywhere. It starts behind the scenes, where nobody even notices it.

You begin with lower level ministries. You could begin with evangelism by simply sharing the Lord will people. It could start with simple counseling, where people come and share their problems with you, and you just pray with them.

You may not know what to advise them because you know nothing yet. But as you learn more you can do this better. We will give you 'Counseling Made Easy' to learn how to counsel. But you must start by ministering to one person at a time.

Group Ministry

When you are ready for it, you will then come to a group ministry. Sometimes you will already begin to see that when you step out in faith to minister to one person.

I remember once when we went out to share the Gospel. There were many people there, and as I began to share the Word with one person, someone else came and joined us.

Before I knew it more people came. I ended up with a whole group of people standing there as I shared the Gospel.

It was a wonderful experience. There I was standing in public and preaching. I had never done that before. I had an idea in my mind of how it would be, but I had to start with one person. Then it led to a larger group.

I remember the first time I stood up to preach to a group of people in church. I had lived this in my mind for years and dreamed of the day that this would happen. Then finally it came to pass.

We had a combined youth meeting with another church, and because I was one of the leaders, they asked me to preach. The Pastor was also there, along with some senior church members.

I had never done that before. I had learned all the theory. In my mind I could see myself preaching, but I had never actually done it. But I stepped into the water and learned to swim.

Amazingly I did exceptionally well and I was blessed. Many people make a mess the first time they stand up. They stammer and stutter, mumble and bumble and open up the Bible in the wrong place.

We all have to go through these experiences before learning to qualify to minister effectively. You cannot avoid that part of your ministry training. So you need to have someone working with you to give you practical exposure.

Preaching to a group of people publicly is one of the most difficult things to do. It is a known fact that standing up and speaking to a crowd of people is something that many people fear more than death. It is not an easy thing.

Learning to Write

Where else can you start? You can start by learning to write. What you write can be read by many people. It is a practical way of taking your knowledge and using it experimentally.

Writing is a very important part of ministry, and in today's world knowledge is a big thing. The Internet is dispensing knowledge all the time. You have so much available to you if you can learn to develop and use your writing ability.

We will provide a full writing course for you. We will show you how to develop that skill and use it to present your ministry.

Becoming a Leader

You need to also learn how to become a leader of others.

What kind of leader are you? No matter where you come from, there is always someone below you. In a home you might have brothers or sisters that are below you. That makes you their leader.

If you are a parent, then you have children under you and you are a leader. So no matter where you are in life, you will always learn to lead. There will always be someone below you.

You need to practice becoming a leader, especially if you want to rise up into the higher leadership ministries.

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