Equipping the Saints

Pray for Your Church: Ministries (3) 

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ… Ephesians 4.11-13

The work of shepherds
As we have seen, Jesus has placed shepherds in His churches—pastor/teachers, as Paul has it here in Ephesians 4. Their calling is to shepherd the flock of the Lord—all the flock, not just those who volunteer for leadership or show up for this or that program or event. The Lord intends all His sheep to be tended; the work of shepherding must be applied to every member of the Body of Christ.

This can only be accomplished by following the example of Jesus and creating shepherds and under-shepherds to bring the work of shepherding to all the saints. Jeremiah saw the coming of this day, as the LORD spoke through Him: “‘But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking, says the LORD.” This is just what Jesus did: He shepherded the twelve, who, in turn, enlisted other shepherds to work with them in watching over all the Lord’s sheep.

I must reiterate that shepherding—the work of shepherd/teachers—is the Lord’s chosen way to build His Church, as Paul makes clear in our text. Shepherds equip the saints who take up the works of the ministry that build the church. The work of shepherding is hard. It’s not a program that you run from time to time, hoping to enlist new folks in the training. It is the ongoing, body-building means whereby the Lord’s flocks are nourished and become equipped to use their Spirit-given gifts (1 Cor. 12.7-11) and power (Acts 1.8) to grow their church in unity and maturity in the Lord. We can try to bypass this method or substitute other things for it, but if we do, we may not expect the Lord to honor those efforts to the full measure of the potential of the church and its members. We must be sure that, in all things, we are following the pattern for building His Church that Jesus has revealed in His Word. And that pattern has shepherd/teachers equipping all the saints who assemble to the Lord in their part of the Body of Christ.

So, what is the nature of the equipping saints should receive?

The nature of equipping
To be brief, they must be equipped for works of ministry appropriate to their own calling and sphere. Again, this does not mean signing-up for programs or getting others to do so. Jesus showed the pattern of this work during the period of His incarnation, when He served the people in His sphere of ministry (Mk. 10.42-45). Jesus sought people, proclaimed the coming of His Kingdom, attended to their needs, instructed them in God’s Word, showed them how to pray, and taught them—by word and example—the ways of the Kingdom. His work culminated in an act of sacrifice that we can only replicate in part, as He took away the sins of the world and opened the door to fellowship with God through His death, resurrection, ascension, and reign.

We must be equipped, as it were, to be Jesus throughout our sphere of influence and in the particular calling God has for each of us. This equipping must, above all, help us to make good use of the means of grace—prayer, reading and study of God’s Word, repentance, and worship—so that, by these the Spirit of God at work within us can transform us increasingly into the likeness of Jesus Christ (Phil. 2.12, 13; 2 Cor. 3.12-18).

Then our shepherds must help us discern the gifts God’s Spirit has bestowed on us and lead us to put these gifts to good use for the common good in building-up the Body of Christ. And we will need to learn such everyday skills of grace as conversation, helping, paying attention, listening well, following-up, exercising hospitality, and building relationships of trust and love. These are not skills that we once acquire and then always have at the ready. They must be learned, practiced, reviewed, improved, refined, and extended if we are to minister the grace of God to the people in our sphere of influence. We must be trained in this, and we need the continuing example and encouragement from our shepherds, both in our souls and our daily ministries in the Lord (Heb. 13.17). This is the way grace spreads and thanksgiving to God increases (2 Cor. 4.15).

Such equipping must be therefore ongoing, using the tools of the Word of God, prayer, and the personal example of our shepherds. As Packer wrote, there is always something we can learn (Finishing Our Course with Joy). And there are always ways we can improve.

The goal of shepherding and equipping
What are we trying to accomplish by this work of shepherding? Three goals must be always in view: to make disciples (Matt. 28.18-20); build our church in unity and maturity (Eph. 4.12-16); and realize more of the presence, promise, and power of the Kingdom of God (Matt. 6.10, 33). Equipping the saints for works of ministry is, like every ministry to which we may be called, an “as-you-are-going” proposition. While courses and classes may play a part in such equipping, the vision for equipping, as well as the skills for works of ministry, will come as they did with Jesus and His disciples: Shepherds attend to their flocks ministries of knowing, leading, laying down their lives, defending, gathering, and nurturing the sheep entrusted to their care.

How in the world can we do that? My answer is simple: By the obedience of faith, beginning with prayer. So here’s a prayer you can use for the work of equipping the members of your church for works of ministry:

Lord, put it in my heart,
and in the hearts of all those in my church,
to desire to serve others with the grace of Jesus.
And help our shepherds,
seeing the vast potential
that exists within us
for bringing thanks and praise to God,
to equip each of us for the works of ministry
appropriate to our calling and sphere.
Thus grow our church in unity and maturity,
O Lord Jesus, You Who are the Head of our church.

For reflection or discussion
1. How is equipping for works of ministry accomplished in your church?

2. For which works of ministry do you feel you need more equipping?

3. Whom will you help to equip for works of ministry today? How?

Next steps—Preparation: Review your calling and sphere of ministry—your Personal Mission Field. What ministry skills do you need to acquire? Begin seeking the Lord to provide these.

T. M. Moore

Give thanks
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

Other columns of interest this week: We continue reading excerpts from the book, Revived! in our Read Moore column. Why not listen in? Last week’s Crosfigell letter called us to make sure we have the right priorities.

Thank you.
Many of you are faithful and generous in praying for and supporting Crosfigell and The Fellowship of Ailbe. Thank you. I encourage all our readers to seek the Lord about becoming a supporter of The Fellowship of Ailbe. It’s easy to give to The Fellowship of Ailbe, and all gifts are, of course, tax-deductible. You can click here to donate online through credit card or PayPal or Anedot, or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.