We also need to talk about re-equipping. What is re-equipping, and why is it necessary?
Pre-study and basic equipping training are very important. I often compare this process to military training. In Korea, military service was compulsory for men, and new soldiers first received basic training. During this period, they learned the basic philosophy, knowledge, and skills necessary for military life.
After completing their basic training at the national training camp, they were assigned to their permanent units, where they would serve for the remainder of their military service. However, when they entered a new unit and faced the real life of the military, many of them were afraid. Until that point, they had received training, but they had not yet experienced the actual realities of military life.
Therefore, they continued to receive training. There was retraining and further training throughout their years of service. Why? Because now they were in the real field. This was no longer simply practice or preparation. They had to face real situations and real responsibilities.
In the same way, re-equipping is essential for lay pastors.
Unfortunately, re-equipping can sometimes be uncomfortable for senior pastors. Many pastors put tremendous energy into the beginning stage of the ministry. They invest everything in the start-up process, and after the ministry is launched successfully, they may feel that they have completed their responsibility.
Some pastors may think, “We have started the ministry. Now it is the responsibility of the lay pastors themselves to continue and develop it. They must be creative and find ways to keep it going.”
However, this is not the reality.
Lay pastors cannot simply manage their own re-equipping without continued support. That is one reason why Dr. Melvin developed various re-equipping materials, including two monographs, Dynamite Meetings, essays, and Letters to Lay Pastors.
These materials are valuable resources for lay pastoral ministry. However, we must also consider the responsibility of the senior pastor in an LPM church.
The senior pastor is responsible for the continuing development of the ministry. Re-equipping should not be considered an optional activity or something that lay pastors must organize entirely by themselves. Lay pastors need additional training, encouragement, guidance, and opportunities for continued growth.
After approximately three months of ministry, lay pastors often begin to recognize how much more they need to learn. In my experience, two important areas frequently become clear: Bible knowledge and an understanding of people, including psychological and relational issues. They also recognize the need for greater practical skills in real ministry.
Before beginning the ministry, they may have heard their teachers explain that certain problems would arise. They may also have studied materials dealing with those problems. However, studying a problem and actually experiencing it are two very different things.
Now they are in the real field.
They are meeting real people. They are facing real problems. They are dealing with situations that cannot always be solved simply by remembering what they learned in a classroom.
Of course, this does not mean that they should give up. Rather, this is the time when they need further guidance and experience. They need to return to what they have learned and discover its meaning in the context of real ministry.
Therefore, senior pastors should become familiar with the ready-made re-equipping resources developed by Dr. Melvin and use them regularly. At the same time, they should become increasingly creative in providing continuing education for their lay pastors.
They do not have to rely only on officially prepared materials. Senior pastors can also use helpful books and resources from their own bookshelves, provided that these materials contribute to the spiritual growth and practical development of lay pastors.
Equipping is not finished when the ministry begins.
In many ways, the most important equipping begins after lay pastors enter the real field of ministry.
Basic equipping prepares them to begin. Re-equipping helps them continue, grow, and become more effective in their ministry.