Training Leaders

Raising Up Elders: Three Areas to Address

By Mike McKinley | 9Marks Journal: Lay Elders: A User's Guide - Part 1 | 11.13.2012

How can you raise up elders for your church? Train men in content, character, and competence.

Discipleship According to the Scriptures

By Garrett Kell | 9Marks Journal: Discipling in the Church | 08.27.2012

Disciples are called to follow Christ, and following him means helping others follow him.

How Can Pastors Raise Up Leaders?

By Bobby Jamieson | 9Marks Journal: Discipling in the Church | 08.27.2012

Here are thirteen ways you can help to raise up other leaders in your congregation.

Leadership Interview with Mark Dever

Finding Faithful Elders and Deacons

By M. Dever, T. Anyabwile | 02.29.2012

Thabiti Anyabwile discusses how to recognize and cultivate godly church leaders.

Sunday School for Dummies: How to Use and Develop New Teachers

By Jamie Dunlop | 9Marks Journal: Don't Be Too Cool for Sunday School | 12.19.2011

Do you have more teaching slots for adult Sunday School programs than you have teachers to fill them? If so, commit to the training of more men to teach.

How to Reform a Sunday School Program

By Juan Sanchez | 9Marks Journal: Don't Be Too Cool for Sunday School | 12.19.2011

For many Christians, Sunday school is a staple of church life. But what do you do when that staple isn’t as healthy as it should be?

Not Your Grandma’s Sunday School

By Garrett Kell | 9Marks Journal: Don't Be Too Cool for Sunday School | 12.19.2011

Who wants to sit and listen to a lecture about theology? Who wants to hear one person yack for an hour in the place of the community contributing? You’d be surprised.

Leadership Interview with Mark Dever

Training Pastors

By D. Jackman, M. Dever | 08.27.2010

Can you “make” a preacher or is preaching simply a gift? Find out in this interview with David Jackman, founder of the Cornhill Training Course.

Wanted: More Older Women Discipling Younger Women

By Susan Hunt | 9Marks Journal: Pastoring Women | 07.01.2010

Older women discipling younger women is not just a nifty idea someone concocted, and it is not optional. It’s a gospel imperative.

How Pastors Can Equip Women for Ministry

By Bob Johnson | 9Marks Journal: Pastoring Women | 07.01.2010

Equipping women for ministry is a necessary piece in the puzzle that is the local church.

“I Learned the Hard Way”: Mentoring at South Woods Baptist

By Phil Newton | 9Marks Journal: Raising Up the Next Generation of Pastors | 04.02.2010

One of the most important things that I can do for staff is to help them understand the diversity in the body of Christ and how to work patiently with all sorts of people.

Who is responsible for training pastors?

9Marks

Most evangelicals believe the answer to that question is obvious: seminaries are responsible. A man who decides he wants to be a pastor should go to seminary, get a degree, and then presto! He’s ready to be a pastor.

What are some practical ways that churches can invest in training pastors?

9Marks

Here are several ways that whole congregations can get involved in training pastors:

What are some of the most important things for a pastor-in-training to learn?

9Marks
The Bible. A pastor’s first priority is to preach the Word (2 Tim. 4:2). A pastor-in-training’s first priority should be to study the Word. Holiness. The primary qualifications for an elder are moral and spiritual (1 Tim. 3:2-7). A pastor is to shepherd his people by his own example (1 Pet. 5:3). Therefore a man pursuing the ministry must diligently seek after consistent, hard-fought holiness.

How important is seminary training?

9Marks

Seminary training is one way to develop some tools that are useful for pastoral ministry. Specifically, seminary is a good place to learn theology, church history, the biblical languages, and the tools of exegesis.

On the other hand, personal ministry within the local church is absolutely essential training for a pastor. It is in the local church that a man’s character is formed and assessed, that he learns how to disciple and counsel others, and that he learns how to preach and teach.

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