When we begin this ministry, motivation is crucial. The question is: How do people become motivated to participate in this ministry?
Through my experience, I discovered an important answer. Dr. Melvin strongly emphasized this in his first book and also in his personal faxes to me many years ago. At that time, Dr. Melvin and I often communicated by fax machine. He repeatedly advised that anyone who wanted to begin this ministry should first study his book, Can the Pastor Do It Alone?
Later, I came to understand how important this guidance was.
Pastors are busy, and laypeople often do not study on their own. Most people are not naturally interested in reading books or studying alone. However, when people study together, something different happens. They discuss the ideas, reflect on them, and, in a sense, “chew and digest” what they are learning.
I remember one male layperson whose pastor gave him a copy of Can the Pastor Do It Alone? and asked him to read it. Later, he confessed that tears came to his eyes as he read the book. He said that he wanted his own church to become like the church described in the book.
Of course, such an experience does not happen to everyone. However, when people study the book together before the PACE Equipping Seminar, they gain a much deeper understanding of the ministry. By the time they come to the training seminar, their hearts and minds are already prepared. Their motivation to serve is much stronger than that of people who come without any previous study.
This is not simply a theory for me. It is something I have experienced through training many churches for more than ten years.
I have observed two different kinds of churches.
The first group consists of churches whose members have studied the first book before my direct training. They are already waiting and prepared to receive what I am going to teach. Training such people is a joyful experience because they are already halfway motivated. In a sense, the first half of the work has been completed before the training seminar even begins.
My role, then, is to help complete the second half. I help them make a paradigm shift and rekindle the vision in their hearts. They are already prepared to move forward and take action.
The second group consists of people who have not read or studied the book before attending the training. They come to the class and try to understand everything from the beginning. Some are not ready at all. They may attend simply because their pastor has strongly encouraged—or even required—them to come.
In such situations, I have a much more difficult task. I must teach, train, equip, and motivate them all at the same time.
Through these experiences, I have learned a very important lesson: pre-study makes a significant difference. When people have already studied the vision and philosophy of the ministry before the training begins, equipping becomes much easier and more effective. But when people come without preparation, the trainer must first help them understand the vision before they can truly be equipped for the ministry.
Therefore, pre-study should be an essential part of preparing people for the PACE ministry.
The Importance of Re-Equipping
Equipping is not the end of the process. Re-equipping is also necessary.
People can easily lose their motivation after the initial excitement of training. They may become busy, discouraged, tired, or distracted by the pressures of daily life. For this reason, lay pastors need continuous encouragement, renewed vision, and opportunities to learn again.
Re-equipping helps them remember why they began the ministry. It rekindles the original vision in their hearts and strengthens their commitment to caring for others.
In my experience, both pre-study and re-equipping are essential. Pre-study prepares the heart before the ministry begins, and re-equipping renews the heart after the ministry has begun.
Pre-study creates motivation. Equipping provides preparation. Re-equipping sustains the ministry.
All three are necessary if we want the ministry to continue faithfully and effectively.