by Tyler Walea

As Jesus clearly transmitted His vision and mission to His disciples, Launch Your Ministry seeks to enable pastors to transmit a similar vision and mission to those willing to go with the gospel. He called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits” (Mark 6:7).

Throughout Scripture, Jesus repeatedly called His followers close to Himself, formed them into teams, and sent them out with the necessary re- sources to accomplish His purpose. This was never random or accidental; it was a deliberate plan of team ministry put into action. He gathered those in whom He had previously identified potential and provided them an opportunity for ministry.

Because the mission of Jesus Christ is still to seek and save the lost, then the world’s greatest need is a church that is prepared and equipped to reach out with the gospel. The church’s greatest need is more workers with their hands in the harvest. The potential is there. The opportunity is present. Until now, however, the missing piece of the puzzle has been a coordinated, systematic plan to actively move workers from the pew to the field.

Launch Your Ministry seeks to change that. The initial idea was born many years ago in the Texas District under the leadership of District Superintendent E.L. Holley. It began as a simple district theme and slogan, seeking to move new ministers into active ministry. Several months ago, the theme was revisited by a group of pastors with the same goal in mind. They quickly realized that a memorable theme wasn’t enough. What if this became more than a slogan? What if it became a mentoring process? What if it was put online, made available to everyone, and shared for free? From those questions, Launch Your Ministry was born.

Launch Your Ministry is the Jesus method of ministry development. The concept rests on the idea of pastor as mentor. Programs, seminars, and resources are no substitute for a pastor’s insight into the harvest field of his calling. The vision of Launch Your Ministry is to supplement the pastor’s ministry mentoring process with content and resources that assist the pastor in effectively transmitting his vision to the next generation of leaders within the local church. Launch Your Ministry is not a substitute for pastoral mentoring; it is a vehicle for it. Launch Your Ministry provides a framework of resources and processes that allow the local church to build a personalized, pastor-led, ministry training system specific to each church and city. The success of the program lies in a four-step process: Pastors link with prospective ministry workers within the local church, provide meaningful learning opportunities for them, if and when they feel a call to preach to prepare them for licensing, and launch them into daily ministry.

LINK
The first step is linking with prospective ministers. The pastor spends time with them, developing relationships, sharing vision, and identifying their potential. This allows the pastor to guide them into the ministry area to which they are best suited.

LEARN
Launch Your Ministry is built on the idea that a systematic plan of transferring knowledge and experience from mentor to student is the biblical method of ministry development. Through the www.LaunchYourMinistry.com site, pastors can make use of a variety of teaching plans, resources, and training videos at no cost to help develop and supplement the pastor’s personal mentoring plan.

LICENSE
Launch Your Ministry seeks to ensure that each person seeking to be involved in ministry is given the ministry skills needed to qualify for licensing. Whether that licensing is traditional ministerial license with the UPCI or the newly revised Christian Workers License is up to the individual pastor and student. The goal of Launch Your Ministry is to simply move potential workers through licensing to a place of responsibility, ownership, and connection with the greater goals of the local church and the kingdom of God.

LAUNCH
Ultimately, Launch Your Ministry seeks to move potential workers into real ministry. With committed guidance from a caring pastor, people already on the pews can become home and foreign missionaries, begin daughter works, become evangelists, establish preaching points, and serve in every area of ministry within the local church. Investing in the spiritual potential of others is an investment in our future. In partnership with Launch Your Ministry, each pastor can invest in a ministry team tailored and equipped for specific ministries. As Jesus clearly transmitted His vision and mission to His disciples, Launch Your Ministry seeks to enable pastors to transmit a similar vision and mission to those willing to go with the gospel.

Launch Your Ministry is committed to making a reality every pastor’s dream that the gospel be known on every street in every community, and that every able worker is sent out into the waiting harvest.

Tyler Walea and his wife Ashley are Assistant Pastors at the First Church of Pearland, in Pearland Texas.