One of the most serious mistakes many pastors make today is keeping people in training when they are already ready to serve.
Even when pastors recognize that something is not working, they often continue using the same approach. I believe there are two main reasons for this. First, they rely too heavily on traditional curricula. Second, they do not fully understand what motivates and prepares today’s Christians.
Most churches still follow a three-year training curriculum. These programs are often developed by denominational headquarters or large, well-known churches. Because they come from respected institutions, local pastors assume they must be the best. Even when they realize that the program is no longer as effective as it once was, they continue using it because they cannot see another way.
But there is a danger in this.
It is like keeping an airplane in a hangar for so long that it begins to rust before it is ever allowed to fly.
People today are different from previous generations. Years ago, many believers had limited biblical knowledge and little experience in ministry. A lengthy training process may have been understandable at that time. But today’s Christians often come to church with a solid biblical foundation, years of church experience, and access to more Christian resources than any previous generation.
What many of them need is not endless preparation.
They need a paradigm shift.
They need someone to help them see that they are capable of serving God now. They need a vision that turns knowledge into action and confidence into ministry.
We can see the same trend in education and professional training. In many fields, training has progressively become shorter—from three years to two, then one year, then six months, and now, in many cases, only a few months. The goal is not to keep people in training as long as possible. The goal is to prepare them effectively and release them into meaningful work.
That is why I believe three years of training before ministry is no longer wise for most laypeople.
PACE ministry demonstrates this principle very well. Official PACE training requires only twelve hours. In my own ministry, I usually train participants over two full days or two evenings.
Some may ask, “How can you prepare someone for ministry in such a short time?”
My answer is simple:
Because they are already almost ready to fly.
The trainer’s role is not to build the airplane from the beginning. The airplane has already been built.
The engine is there.
The wings are there.
The fuel is there.
The pilot is there.
What is needed is someone who will open the hangar door, guide the airplane onto the runway, and say, “You are ready. Now fly.”
This is an important principle of ministry.
Training does not create God’s calling in people. Training helps people recognize, develop, and act on the calling and gifts God has already placed within them.
Sometimes the greatest obstacle to ministry is not a lack of ability.
It is a lack of permission.
People are waiting for someone to tell them, “You can do this.”
There is another reason some churches continue to insist on lengthy training programs. Although it is rarely stated openly, some churches may unintentionally use training as a way of retaining people rather than releasing them. The longer people remain in a program, the longer they remain connected to the institution.
But the purpose of ministry training should not be retention.
It should be release.
We are not called to keep people in the hangar. We are called to send them onto the runway.
Some people argue, “But Jesus trained His disciples for three years. Shouldn’t we do the same?”
That comparison overlooks the nature of Jesus’ training.
Jesus’ three years with His disciples were not simply three years of classroom instruction. They lived with Him. They traveled with Him. They watched Him minister. They served alongside Him. They experienced real ministry, real people, real problems, and real miracles.
Jesus did not keep His disciples in a classroom for three years and then finally tell them to begin ministry.
He trained them while they were already participating in ministry.
That is a very different model.
Today’s laypeople are also different from those of ten or twenty years ago. They are often better educated, more informed, more connected to biblical resources, and eager to contribute. They live in a rapidly changing world and face challenges and opportunities that previous generations did not.
Pastors therefore need to face reality rather than cling to outdated assumptions.
Our task is not to keep capable people waiting in the hangar.
Our task is to recognize when they are ready, open the door, guide them onto the runway, and encourage them to take off.
Of course, not everyone is ready immediately. Some people genuinely need more preparation. Wisdom is required to discern that. But we should not confuse more trainingwith better training.
Sometimes the best training is not another semester.
It is the first opportunity to serve.
Sometimes people discover what they can do only after they begin doing it.
And sometimes the person who needs the greatest encouragement is the person who has been sitting in the hangar the longest.
The church has enough airplanes sitting on the ground.
We need more airplanes in the sky.
After all, airplanes are built to fly—not to remain safely parked inside the hangar.
And people whom God has called are not meant merely to be trained.
They are meant to be released into God’s mission.