By Byeong
The effectiveness of the Lay Pastors Ministry depends not only on initial training but also on a well-planned process of preparation, equipping, re-equipping, and ongoing maintenance. Experience has shown that churches that follow this process establish stronger and more sustainable ministries.
1. Pre-Study (with the Senior Pastor)
Resource: Can the Pastor Do It Alone? (Textbook)
Why Is Pre-Study Necessary?
The first step in establishing a Lay Pastors Ministry is building motivation. Without a clear understanding of the ministry’s vision, training alone will have limited impact.
Many years ago, Dr. Melvin Steinbron strongly encouraged churches to require participants to read his first book, Can the Pastor Do It Alone?, before attending the training seminar. He emphasized this not only in his writings but also in our personal correspondence when we communicated regularly by fax. Through many years of ministry, I have found his advice to be absolutely correct.
Pastors are busy, and many laypeople are not accustomed to reading ministry books or studying independently. However, when participants read and discuss the material together before the seminar, something remarkable happens. They begin to understand the vision, ask questions, reflect on the concepts, and develop a genuine desire to serve.
I remember one layman whose pastor simply gave him the book to read. Later he shared that as he read it, tears filled his eyes because he longed for his church to become like the churches described in the book. His heart had already been prepared before he ever attended the training.
This illustrates the value of pre-study. Participants do not merely read information—they discuss it, reflect on it, and internalize it. As a result, when they attend the PACE Equipping Seminar, they arrive with enthusiasm and expectation. Their motivation is already high, making the training much more effective.
Over the past fifteen years, I have observed two very different situations.
The first group consists of churches that completed the pre-study before inviting me to conduct the seminar. These participants came prepared, eager to learn, and ready to embrace the ministry. In many ways, half of the work had already been accomplished before the seminar began. My role was simply to guide them through a paradigm shift, deepen their understanding, and ignite their passion for ministry.
The second group consisted of churches that skipped the pre-study. Many participants attended simply because their pastor asked them to come. They had little understanding of the ministry and were not mentally prepared. Much of the seminar had to be spent creating motivation before actual training could begin, making the process significantly more difficult.
For this reason, pre-study should never be considered optional. It prepares both the mind and the heart for effective equipping.
2. Equipping (PACE Training Manual – Approximately 10 Hours)
For the first group of Lay Pastors or Lay Ministers, it is generally better to invite an experienced PACE trainer rather than asking the senior pastor to conduct the training alone.
During the past fifteen years, I have had the privilege of equipping more than 750 laypeople in approximately 140 churches. Most senior pastors invited me because they recognized several realities:
- They were not yet familiar with the Lay Pastors Ministry.
- They had little experience using the PACE Training Manual.
- They understood education and preaching but had not yet learned the unique process of equipping people for pastoral care.
Equipping is different from teaching. Teaching primarily transfers knowledge, while equipping prepares people for ministry through understanding, practice, and transformation.
Even pastors with advanced theological degrees have admitted that they were not comfortable conducting PACE training without first experiencing it themselves. I have even been asked to equip congregations by pastors who earned doctoral degrees in the United States because they recognized that expertise in theology does not automatically produce expertise in this ministry.
Once the first generation of Lay Pastors has been equipped by an experienced trainer, future generations can gradually be equipped by local leaders under the guidance of the senior pastor.
3. Re-Equipping (Using the Three Re-Equipping Resources)
No ministry remains healthy without continual renewal.
Initial equipping provides the foundation, but re-equipping sustains the ministry over time.
This is true in every area of life. Students may be excited when they first learn something new, but after graduation they naturally seek fresh knowledge and greater challenges. Ministry is no different. Lay Pastors need continual learning, encouragement, and spiritual renewal.
Unfortunately, many churches overlook this stage. Some pastors assume that once people have completed the initial training, the work is finished. Others leave the ministry entirely in the hands of the Lay Pastors, believing that continued development is now their responsibility alone.
As a result, many ministries begin with great enthusiasm but gradually lose momentum and eventually disappear.
Recognizing this reality, Dr. Melvin Steinbron developed three major re-equipping resources:
- 13 Monographs
- Dynamite Meetings
- 22 Essays
In addition, for more than thirty years he regularly shared new insights, ministry principles, and practical ideas through the LPMI USA Network News.
He understood an important principle:
One-time equipping is never enough. Healthy ministries require continual learning, encouragement, and renewal.
4. Ongoing Maintenance
Beyond pre-study, equipping, and re-equipping, every Lay Pastors Ministry requires continual maintenance.
Maintenance means regularly evaluating the ministry, encouraging volunteers, solving problems, celebrating successes, recruiting new leaders, and keeping the original vision alive.
For this reason, every church should establish a Ministry Leadership Group (MLG).
The MLG consists of several committed leaders who take ownership of the ministry and share responsibility for its success. They provide leadership, accountability, planning, encouragement, and vision so that the ministry continues to grow rather than slowly decline.
A healthy Lay Pastors Ministry is not built by one seminar alone. It is sustained through preparation, equipping, re-equipping, and faithful maintenance, all working together under the leadership of committed pastors and lay leaders.
Pre-study → Equipping → Re-equipping → Maintenance
This emphasizes that equipping is not a one-time event but a lifelong cycle of preparation, growth, renewal, and faithful ministry. It also aligns well with our recurring theme that the Lay Pastors Ministry is built on continuous development rather than a single training seminar.