The term lay pastor is commonly used in American churches. At one seminar, Pastor Ok Han-heum once mentioned that some churches in the United States have hundreds of lay pastors. I believe he was referring to what is commonly called a lay pastor in the American church context. Apart from churches such as Yeouido Full Gospel Church, it may be difficult to imagine churches in Korea having hundreds of pastors.
Recently, I asked Pastor Melvin about the meaning of the term lay pastor. His answer was simple: all believers are lay ministers, and those who take responsibility for caring for other believers may be called lay pastors.
However, while reading a book called Beyond the Box, I came across an interesting discussion of four different types of lay pastors. I found this distinction meaningful because it reflects several models of lay pastoral ministry that are being practiced today, particularly in the United States.
First, some lay pastors are trained at the denominational level and then sent to churches that do not have a pastor. This is actually similar to what Pastor Silawwe, the president of the Evangelical Church, asked us to consider when we went to Thailand for a seminar. There are many churches that cannot afford or attract a full-time pastor. In such situations, it could be very helpful to train and deploy qualified laypeople to provide pastoral leadership and care.
Second, there are lay pastors who have not pursued formal theological education but serve the church in a pastoral or missionary capacity. This model is also meaningful. When I went to a seminar in Seosan, the pastor there told me that he was considering using such a system. In Alabama, Marie Palmer is a paid church staff member and leads a team of laypeople. She did not pursue formal theological education, yet she has taken on significant pastoral responsibility.
Third is the model we practice through the Lay Pastors Ministry (LPM). In this model, trained lay pastors do not replace the senior pastor’s overall pastoral leadership; rather, they extend the pastor’s pastoral care by caring for individual members and families. This is the model of lay pastoral care developed by Dr. Melvin Steinbron.
Fourth, the author of Beyond the Box emphasizes that all small-group leaders in the church should be regarded as lay pastors. This is especially interesting to me. I sometimes think of this concept as representing a “Church Beyond the 21st Century.” If all small-group leaders are equipped to care for people pastorally, then, in a meaningful sense, all leaders can become lay pastors. Isn’t this similar to what Pastor Kim Sang-bok has called Monghoe Ja-hwa—the idea that pastoral ministry can be shared and multiplied among the people of God?
These four models show that the scope of lay pastors can be much broader than we sometimes imagine.
Risk Factors in Lay Pastors Ministry
Many pastors are afraid of developing a lay pastors ministry. I have heard this concern expressed several times. A pastor in Bundang once shared a similar experience. After he began training laypeople for ministry, someone personally challenged him. The person essentially said, “Why would you create more trouble by training laypeople when dealing with laypeople is already difficult enough?”
I also remember being criticized by a senior pastor when I used the expression “laypeople are ministers”during a national gathering of our staff. He said that he disliked the very concept of laypeople being called ministers. I believe he misunderstood what we meant.
Why do some pastors react this way?
Sometimes their concern comes from previous experiences with elders or church leaders. Sometimes they have experienced conflict or even been hurt by church officials. And sometimes they simply feel that empowering laypeople may threaten the pastor’s authority or ministry.
But I believe we need to look at the issue differently.
When I explain this, I often use the image of a scale. Suppose one side weighs 40 grams and the other weighs 60 grams. If the risks are 40 and the potential benefits are 60, then the wise choice is to recognize that the benefits outweigh the risks.
There is also a theological and biblical reason for this. God has given every believer a ministry. The pastor’s role is not to do all the ministry alone, but to equip God’s people for ministry. Ephesians 4:11–12 reminds us that Christ gave leaders to equip the saints for the work of ministry.
Admittedly, it may sound a little bold to say this, but I sometimes tell pastors, “You don’t know what you are missing!”
A pastor may try to prevent one problem and, in the process, lose ten opportunities.
When we release and encourage laypeople to minister, the benefits can be much greater than the risks. In fact, the opposite can also be true. When pastors try too hard to control everything, how many people eventually become discouraged and leave the church altogether?
Pastoral ministry requires courage. Life itself requires courage.
Of course, we should not take unnecessary or reckless risks. But we should not be so afraid of the risks that we miss the opportunities God has placed before us.
The real question is not, “What might go wrong if we empower laypeople?”
The better question is, “What might happen if we do not?”
When pastors equip, trust, and release laypeople to care for others, the pastor’s ministry is not diminished. It is multiplied.