By Christina Li
“I love to interview pastors and missionaries and feel their passion and heartbeat for lost souls and young ministers. Often, I am brought to tears during the interviews that I do,” so says Rev Jacob Tapia, Founder/Administrator of MinistryMentorship.com, an online resource that seeks to connect Apostolic leaders with young people for the purpose of ministry development.
“Our main content includes a weekly podcast that features an interview with an Apostolic leader and a monthly live Bible study. We also host online training seminars where young ministers can interact with Apostolic leaders. We have an iTunes account (with free downloads available), Facebook page, Twitter account, Instagram, and Google+ profile that help us promote the resources that are available. It is my desire that this website will be the prominent ministry development tool for young ministers in the next five years.”
MinistryMentorship.com was started back in April of 2013, when Bro Tapia launched the website. “Over the past year we have done over 35 interviews and have close to 100 entries on our website. As I have traveled and ministered across the US, I have heard from many young ministers who have felt a void of direction and training for their ministry. My own ministry has been greatly impacted by so many wonderful men and women of God and I wanted to share those relationships with other young ministers. In no way do I feel that I am replacing the need for a pastor and their guidance in the local church. Rather, I feel that this is a supplement to the ministry experience one will gain in the local church setting. It is my desire that through the podcasts, Bible studies, and workshops, that the listener will receive insight, training, and encouragement in their personal growth and ministry.”
So far, the response has been very positive. “Many pastors are recognizing the need for training for their young ministers. We are also seeing many pastors use media and online resources to train their young ministers.” Bro Tapia feels that he is merely a link for young people to connect to ministers with whom they may never come in contact.
“When I am selecting someone to interview, I look for people who have a love for the Apostolic, Acts 2:38 message, and who have a prominent platform of ministry or who have a solid track record of ministry experience. Most of the people I have interviewed are licensed ministers with the United Pentecostal Church. Many of them had someone who helped them when they first started in ministry and are more than happy to invest in the next generation. The interviews include younger and older ministers, men and women, different nationalities and cultures, etc. I also get quite a few referrals.” The most popular interviews are with Jeff Arnold, Cortt Chavis, and Angela Harwood. “My personal favorite is the interview with David K. Bernard.”
How best to use MinistryMentorship.com? “My suggestion is to visit the website and become a subscriber (it’s free) to get updates as soon as new podcasts come out.”
