There were several mistakes in the early years of introducing the Lay Pastors Ministry, and these experiences taught me valuable lessons.
The first occurred in the church where I served as an associate pastor. Shortly after I translated Dr. Melvin’s first book, Can the Pastor Do It Alone?, into Korean, our senior pastor asked me to train laypeople for pastoral care. The training was announced to the congregation, and about nineteen people enrolled. It was the first Lay Pastors training I had ever conducted.
After completing the training, we organized the ministry according to the principles in the textbook. The newly trained Lay Pastors began caring for their fellow members. They were highly motivated and eager to serve. In fact, they became so active that it surprised everyone. The church had never experienced this level of lay involvement before. While this enthusiasm was encouraging, it also made the senior pastor uncomfortable. He had not expected such a rapid mobilization of lay leaders, and he became concerned about how this new ministry would affect the church.
Another mistake followed immediately after the training. According to the Lay Pastors Ministry model, those who complete the training should be publicly commissioned during a worship service and receive their certificates before the congregation. Public commissioning is important because it officially recognizes their calling and gives the congregation confidence in their ministry.
However, our senior pastor decided not to hold a public commissioning service. Instead, he invited each trainee to his office individually and privately presented the certificate. Looking back, it was a remarkable scene.
I understand why he made that decision. He may have been concerned that members who had not received the training would feel excluded or disappointed. Perhaps he also viewed the Lay Pastors Ministry as simply another church program rather than a ministry that equips believers according to God’s calling.
Unfortunately, the consequences were significant. Because the Lay Pastors were never publicly commissioned, they were never publicly recognized. Without that recognition, it became difficult for them to minister confidently within the congregation. Gradually, the ministry lost momentum and eventually closed down.
Even today, many people from that church express regret that the ministry ended so quickly. They believe God gave the church a unique opportunity to grow, strengthen pastoral care, and develop mature lay leadership, but the opportunity was missed.
God sometimes opens a special window of opportunity. Those moments do not come indefinitely. When God provides such an opportunity, we should respond with faith and courage rather than hesitation.
A similar situation occurred in another church. Once again, I trained a group of laypeople who became highly motivated and were ready to begin serving immediately. However, the pastor was not ready to commission them.
He told me, “Before commissioning them, I want to go to the prayer mountain and seek God’s guidance.”
One month later, I called him and asked whether the commissioning had taken place. He replied that he was still praying. Another month passed, and I called again. His answer was the same—he was still praying. Eventually, the commissioning never happened.
The trainees were prepared. Their hearts were ready. They were waiting for the door to open, but it never did. As a result, the opportunity passed, and the ministry never began.
These experiences taught me an important lesson: training alone is not enough. The pastor and church leadership must also be prepared to embrace the vision, publicly affirm the ministry, and release trained people into service. When training, commissioning, and leadership support work together, the Lay Pastors Ministry can flourish. When any one of these elements is missing, even well-trained and highly motivated people may never have the opportunity to fulfill the ministry God has prepared for them.