Intro to Staff Training

The training of workers for effective service is a major responsibility of a church. Every Christian is saved to serve and all should have a place of ministry. Effective serving and ministering will require training. The size of the training task is so big because of growth
of churches and the big turnover in volunteer workers.

“When someone begins to become involved in the church, it is important that that person become acquainted with the way in which things are done. It is necessary to learn the operating style of the congregation and the pastor. It is critical to know the way in which voluntary organizations function under the law of the land as well as the law of the church. In short, the desire to do something worthwhile must be informed, channeled, and nurtured”.

Church leader training can basically be divided into two categories: pre-service and in-service. There will be some training programs which will overlap both categories. The Southern Baptist Convention identifies three types of church training: new member orientation, church member training, and church leader training.

John Maxwell, in Developing the Leaders Around You, described a 5-step training process:

1. I model
2. I mentor
3. I monitor
4. I motivate
5. I multiply

Pre-service Training

Many training programs can be considered as pre-service. In effect, pre-service programs would be those a person is involved in before he begins to serve. This is probably the weakest link in the chain of church leadership training. The new member training class, which is conducted by most churches, is a very early and basic type of pre-service training. Some churches have gone beyond the new members class and conducted special training classes for potential leaders.

Potential leader training is the basic kind of pre-service training. It provides basic knowledge and understanding and develops basic skills in the general area of church leadership. A pre-service training program should include such subjects as Bible, theology, spiritual gifts, church history, missions, human behavior, educational theory, teaching, evangelism, music, leadership, and Christian family life. Potential leader training is not intended to equip a person for a specific leadership position. It is designed to help persons decide where they can serve best. Ideally, however, potential leader training should be offered before a person assumes a place of leadership.

The Potential Leader Training class would pull people from the pool of members not serving, train them, and send them out to a place of service, on for additional training, or back into the regular educational program. In setting a time for this, the church needs to consider other programs, space available, teachers, participants, child care, etc. Sunday night before the service has been a good time in many churches.

Pre-service training in Christian schools

Graduates of quality Christian schools like Lynchburg Christian Academy or Liberty University have much of this pre-service training. The formal and required Bible curriculum would include courses like Old Testament and New Testament surveys, basic doctrine, evangelism, and other important classes. A student that graduates from a strong Bible curriculum like these would really have completed a good pre-service training program for church leaders and be ready to
begin training for specific places of service.

A prepared course

 Rick Warren has developed what he calls a “Life Development Process” with four classes that are definitely in this category:

Class 101, Committed to Membership – is basically a new member class.
Class 201, Committed to Maturity – moves beyond the basics to what it means to be a mature believer.
Class 301, Committed to or Discovering my Ministry – helps a person discover his/her place of ministry. In this class they study SHAPE (Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experience) and use that to develop a personal profile to find the place of ministry.
Class 401, Committed to Missions, is designed to help persons discover their life mission. This is covered a little in his book, The Purpose Driven Church (see p. 130), and more extensively in his seminars. Many churches have adapted these courses, and they really make an excellent pre-service training program.

 The Southern Baptist Convention prepared a course entitled “Training Potential Leaders.” The basic sections of this course included leadership skills, Bible, doctrine, and church educational organizations. A church could very wisely establish about a 3-month new members class to be followed by about a 6-month pre-service type of leadership training class. This would be a giant step forward for church leadership training.

 The Potential Leader Training Guide suggests a course with 26 sessions or weeks. It suggests that a separate teacher could be used for each course.

Introductory Lesson (1 session)
I. Understanding Servant Leadership (4 sessions)
II. Surveying the Bible (5 sessions)
III. Surveying Baptist Beliefs (8 sessions)
IV. Examining the Work of the Church (4 sessions)
V. Discovering Leadership Skills (3 sessions)
Summary Lesson (1 session)

Evangelical training program

A more extensive type of training program could be considered as a pre-service program. For example, the Evangelical Training Association (ETA) has an excellent training program available.

ETA offers several advantages for a church leader training program. The course offering is extensive and covers all the basic areas of training. The program is nationally advertised and familiar to most church leaders. It has been in use for over 50 years. Standards are established for the teachers, the courses, and the students. Awards given include separate ones for each book completed, plus the certificates. The curriculum materials include a pupil’s book, a teacher’s book, and, for most courses, teaching aids such as overhead transparencies and cassette tapes.

Each course requires twelve class sessions of 45 minutes each, or 10 hours of class time. Each course gives one credit and also carries the additional Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credential, which is academically and industrially transferable all over the world. The teacher must be approved by ETA and their textbooks must be used. Teachers gain approval by graduating from an ETA member school of higher education, like Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary at Liberty University.

The program changed dramatically in 1988. A new three-level church ministries certificate program was introduced. It begins with a Foundational Church Ministries Certificate. This will require the following:

Required courses
Growing Toward Spiritual Maturity
Understanding People
Elective courses (two credits required)
New Testament Survey
Old Testament Survey: Law and History
Old Testament Survey: Poetry and Prophecy
Teaching Techniques or Understanding Teaching
Approved church-designated course

The approved church designated course is a new idea for ETA. The course can be the unique history, mission emphasis, and doctrine of your local church. The course must meet 10 hours, be taught by a competent teacher, and be compatible in student demand to other courses. The outline must be approved in advance by ETA.

When the foundational certificate is earned, ETA then offers 3 ministry tracks:
1. The teacher certificate program is for those teaching in Sunday School, Bible studies, and special ministries.
2. The leader certificate program is for superintendents, administrators, elders, deacons, etc.
3. The program staff certificate program is for workers in children and youth clubs, adult fellowships, and etc.
Each ministry track has a standard certificate and an advanced certificate. Both of these certificates require a minimum of four additional credits.

Apprenticeship

Another less formal type of pre-service training is to use an apprenticeship type of training with a helper. This can be a very invaluable type of training. An assistant teacher is getting excellent preparation for becoming a teacher. However, an apprentice has already become a type of a leader. The enlistment interview is an important part of the pre-service training program, and is effective if carried out as discussed in the previous chapter.