Things young pastors wish to know before responding to their calling

Most young pastors are very passionate when they start responding to their calling.

They are excited to lead and manage God’s flocks; little did they know that they have a considerable responsibility weighing on their shoulders. 

Though some of them completed their theological education, they still wish to know things before accepting God’s calling of being a young pastor. 

Jay Mitchell says that being a young pastor in a developing church can be thrilling but also overwhelming.

He said he was the Executive Pastor at a fast-growing church in his early 30s. 

Mitchell admitted that it was amazing to witness people come to the Lord.

However, it was also challenging to slow the growth and learn to disagree. 

In addition, most young pastors are overwhelmed by their daily tasks of shepherding a developing church and may ignore their emotional wellness.

Mitchell emphasized that the church’s overall health relies on the staff’s emotional condition.

Things Young Pastors Wish to Know

There are things we learn from our experience that they should include in the books we study in school. The same is valid with pastoring.

Most pastors who responded to their calling in their early 20s to 30s learned the most valuable things through their experiences.

Sometimes, young pastors give up their calling if they do not receive enough guidance and support from the church or their mentors.

Here are some things to help young pastors fulfill God’s highest calling of shepherding His flocks.

Learn To Say No

Learning to say no is one of the most challenging things for young pastors. This struggle is especially true if they are leading an older generation.

As pastors, the more you say yes, the more responsibilities you give yourself.

Mitchel noted that too much commitment would exhaust you sooner than you imagine. Pastors agree for healthy and unhealthy reasons.

He added that deciding on a new ministry within the church could be for their growth.

However, saying yes to having more tasks, feeling needed, or being promoted could be unhealthy. 

Young pastors should have a vivid sense of what their responsibilities are and what their job is not.

They must analyze their reasons for saying yes or no before committing.

Additionally, they must know what they can do and then delegate what they cannot.

Impress God with Preaching

In this generation, there are a lot of good public speakers and preachers that create a significant impact on people. This trend could be another challenge for young pastors.

Some of them compromise with what their audience wants to hear rather than expose what God wants to say.

Peter Adam of TableTalk emphasized that young pastors must remember that they serve an audience of one who is God alone.

You should not preach for you to deal with your personal needs nor for people to appreciate or be impressed by them. 

Young pastors should never preach out of fear of criticism.

Adam says they should learn to live and wait until the Lord Jesus says they did a great job in their calling. 

Learn to fall in love with the Bible

There is no more significant way of fulfilling your calling as a young pastor than first to love God’s word.

For young pastors who experienced and will experience a lot of attacks from the enemy, their greatest weapon is the Bible. 

Learning to meditate on it day and night and then filling their mind, heart, and lives with God’s truth could empower them to win over their struggles as young pastors.

Adam noted that if God’s words are not in your mind, heart, and life, they will not come out on your lips. 

As young pastors, they should train to have the self-discipline to avoid reading their ideas into the Bible.

Since they know things in the Bible, they tend to assume that they already know what it means and do not need to read it carefully.

Adam advised young pastors not to think while reading the Bible and just read without putting their ideas into God’s word.

Find Mentor Outside Your Ministry

Everyone needs someone accountable for them to grow and be healthy in their calling.

Young pastors are privileged to serve the highest God, but that does not mean they can already stand alone. 

As you start your journey on your calling, the first thing you should learn is humility.

You do not know anything about pastoring, and since you have a greater calling of caring for God’s flock, you need someone to mentor you. 

Mitchell advised young pastors to find accountability partners outside their church.

They need to look for a personal pastor outside their ministry so they can have the liberty to talk about the challenges they are experiencing. 

It could be difficult for them to do their calling in the ministry because their close friends are often their colleagues, and their mentor may also be their boss.

Having a mentor outside the church allows young pastors to process their struggles healthily.

They are free of judgment and criticism if their mentors are not in the church.

Not all elders in the church are open-minded, and admitting your struggles as a young pastor could sometimes become a stumbling block for some members.

Know Yourself

It is only possible to do something by knowing your identity. The same is true with young pastors. Given that you are young, many things in the world could distract you from fulfilling your calling. 

If you do not learn more about what you can and cannot do, it may be easy for you to give up your calling. 

Mitchell suggests that young pastors should discover their gifts and what environments would allow them to thrive.

The better you understand who God has created you, the more you are confident in your skin and free to be who you are.

Have In-depth Bible Study

There are some things in the Bible that you cannot understand by just relying on yourself.

As a young pastor, you should get advice on having good resources like commentaries, Bible dictionaries, and references on biblical theology. 

Remember that you are accountable to God for whatever you preach to your congregation.

You are God’s spokesperson for His words, so knowing what His words mean is crucial before telling them to the whole community.

Young pastors could learn Hebrew and Greek. When you read the Scripture, you should ask what is in the text. Why is it there? What is its theological significance? 

Listen to Good Sermons

Just like a new employee, young pastors need models from experts and professionals in the industry.

Good preachers were not born; they are made through training and observing other good preachers. 

In line with this, young pastors should listen to good preachings, observe how they deliver their message, and use the Bible.

They could learn from listening to good preachers to see how they communicate and how much they demonstrate their love in their message.

Learn to Love People

Pastors are called not just to lead God’s flocks but also to love and nurture them. As a young pastor, you must be willing to love the people regardless of their attitude towards you, just like Jesus Christ. 

9Marks emphasized that apart from love-earned trust, it would be difficult for people to follow a pastor’s leadership. 

Meanwhile, Adam emphasized that preaching God’s word without love is insignificant. Young pastors should learn to listen, not talk. They should learn to be humble and have a servant’s heart.

If people feel loved, being young could not be an issue when they need to follow you because they know you are only correcting them and leading them out of love.