The office of pastor is one of the five-fold ministry gifts given by Christ to the church for its equipping, edification (building up), growth and worldwide expansion (see Eph. 4:11-16; cf 1 Pet. 5:1-4).

Just like Christ chose, trained, equipped and commissioned His apostles to preach and teach the Gospel around the world (see Mk 3:13-15; cf Matt. 28:18-20; Mk 16:14-20), He expected the apostles to also disciple, raise up, train and release others to go out into the world and do the same (see Ac. 11:19-26; cf 2 Tim. 2:1-2).

Any Christian layman contemplating or desiring the office and ministry of pastor must be spiritually mature, biblically literate (have a well-rounded knowledge of the Bible), mentally and emotionally healthy (stable) and also personally proven in Christian fruit and character (see Gal. 5:16-26; cf 1 Tim. 3:1-7) before entering and serving in the office and position of pastor.

All of the above requirements will enable and allow the person serving in the office and position of pastor to:

• Shepherd with humility and care
• Counsel with knowledge and wisdom
• Lead with confidence and conviction
• Preach with authority and boldness

With the extremely high cost of sound biblical and theological education and the huge time commitment required (usually between 4 -7 years) by regionally accredited Bible colleges and seminaries for those who are called to minister and serve the church in the capacity as pastors, a great need exist today for every local church to raise-up, train, equip and release capable ministers to assist in various capacities in the local church and its mission in the world without compromising sound biblical doctrine and church practices and polity.

This specialized pastoral ministry training program is designed specifically for two categories of people:

(1) lay ministers recommended by their local church pastors who are looking for help and desire to eventually appoint/deploy those trained to assist in strategic ministry leadership positions in the local church, and

(2) Christian ministers who may not have had the opportunity to attend traditional Bible college or seminary degree programs but already serving in the ministry and role as pastor, and desire and want to receive specialized pastoral ministry training or a refresher.

NOTE:
While some pastors and lay ministers may like to take one or more of these specialized pastoral ministry training courses, the courses were not designed for that purpose and therefore they are not available to be taken individually.