Train the Church

The most common request we get about our training center is “can I see your curriculum?” However the question assumes that the content drives the process. Though we care more about process, we make a stab at answering, “how do you match content to your training process?” Topics Addressed 0:45  What’s behind the question, “Can I see your curriculum?” 4:10   If you were starting to design a training process, what content questions would you be thinking through? 11:00  What foundational issues need to come into the design? 13:50 What drives your content choices? 19:50 How do you assess what books to use in training? 27:15  What’s planned for season 2 this fall? Show Notes Resources mentioned today are listed at www.trainthechurch.com

Most every month, a pastor or seminary student drives down to our church to spend some time talking through training and discipleship, then watching our Training Center. This podcast began because we realized that certain questions were being asked every time we met. Today, we tackle one of the most popular.  In dialog with other pastors, after we’ve described the overall process for training men in the church that we practice, there is a question we hear pretty quickly. “How much is reasonable to expect of Christian men who work and have a family?” Because every church context is unique, we strive to talk through both our practice and the principles involved. Key Questions 1:00 What is the baseline character requirements of a man you’re going to train for ministry? 3:50 Would you train a man if there are known marital issues? 7:35 Does the reputation of his children affect his readiness for training? 9:57 Should ministry involvement be a prerequisite to extended ministry training? 12:36 A deep dive on ‘How much workload can a man reasonably handle as part of the training process?’ 31:00 What’s the minimum workload? What’s a good starting point? 36:28 What are the liabilities to a monthly meeting for training? 38:37 How do you respond to pastors who say, “I don’t have the time”? 39:55 How should a pastor respond to a man who says, “I don’t have the time”?

One of the core strengths of FBC’s Training Center is helping men to determine their gifting. That determination doesn’t come from the pastors and their input, but from the community that develops within the group itself.  Today we talk about how effective ministry training involves understanding how God specifically and uniquely gifted each man. Key Questions 2:04  Why are so many people unclear about what their spiritual gifts are? 3:28  Are spiritual gift tests helpful or not? 15:33 Explain how finding your gifts fits into what we do in ministry training. 21:13 What do we practically to cultivate the discovery of gifts in the context of training? 25:10 Chris lists new spiritual gifts ex-cathedra   ;-) 27:48 What dangers should we beware of as we help men determine their spiritual gifts?

John, Chris and Nigel talk about their method for training men at FBC.  With a fair bit of laughter, we share what we do with men over the span of 3 years to equip them with the word and help them know their gifting & strengths.  We also do our best to describe the strengths & weaknesses of our own program. Key Questions 1:30  What is the overall goal of FBC’s Training Center? 5:50  An overview of year 1 of the Training Center 14:27  Why do we force the men to learn the Bible in just one semester? 15:55  What happens during year 2 of the Training Center? 28:55  An overview of year 3 of the Training Center 37:41   What are some of the weaknesses of our method?

With so many different methods for training men employed today, we strive to consider the strengths and weaknesses of each model. Our method is not without weakness, but we save all conversation about that for next episode. In this episode, we talk about seminary education, unaccredited seminaries, learning by doing, and what happens when churches imitate seminaries. Episode Milestones 2:24   What are the strengths of seminary training? 8:53   What are the weaknesses of seminary training? 10:54  What are the pros/cons on unaccredited seminaries? 15:30  What are the downsides of simply learning ministry on the job? 19:34  What are the positives of being thrust into the ministry without training? 22:40  What are the challenges that churches face when they strive to imitate seminary training methods? 28:45  What makes a man question and evaluate the training method he uses? Show notes and more information can be found at www.trainthechurch.com

What is the ideal environment for training men for ministry?  Do you need a building?  Is your ambition to become an accredited seminary?  Do you need a staff with doctorates?  What should be its connection of a training program to a local church?  And what if the church isn't healthy?  We want to wrestle with those questions today. Milestones 1:06    Does a church need a building in order to effectively change men? 4:00   How is the training environment distinct from its location? 7:56    How necessary is the local church for effective ministry training? 13:34  When should a church send a man away for further training? 19:23  What qualities must be manifest in a church in order for it to be effective in equipping men? 22:33  What qualities in a local church should push a man to look elsewhere? 25:50  Should a church delay training men until they feel happy with all that they’re doing? Find the show notes at www.trainthechurch.com

Every pastor wrestles with WHO do I train for ministry?  Who should I pursue and who should I say no to?  In this episode, we talk through our filter on who to invest into – what if they're new, different in theology, young, etc.? What about women who want further training? Find more at www.trainthechurch.com

A football coach has a goal for his team. In fact, he has a goal for every practice.  But when it comes to church-based training, many pastors seem to act without a specific, measurable goal.   What should be the overall goal of ministry training?  How is that purpose frequently misunderstood?  And when can you say that you're done and someone is equipped and ready to go? Milestones  How do pastors frequently misunderstand the call to train men? (1:45)  What should be the target for ministry training? (9:33)  How are training & discipleship different? (17:32)  How do you know when you’re done training someone? (19:30) 

John talks to Chris and Nigel about discipleship, its distinction and necessity in the process of training men for ministry, and how frequently churches practice a narrow form, rather than all that the Bible encourages us to pursue together. Key Topics What's typically meant by discipleship? (1:10) How do you shift a church's view of discipleship from one-on-one meetings? (8:00) Practical steps that a pastor should consider (14:28) How do you shift a church that views discipleship as a program? (20:32) How necessary is discipleship for the process of training men for ministry? (27:20)

Train the Church is a podcast focused on the topic of training men in the local church. In this episode, the three pastors of Faith Bible Church in Murrieta, CA sit down to discuss their back stories and how they came to prioritize the training of men for ministry. Key Topics 9:21 -- what impacted your approach to training? 17:50 -- how would you do things differently now? 20:11 -- what favorite memories do you have from training men? 27:00 -- do you have a favorite book on training men? Recommended Books Following the Master, Michael Wilkins Training of the Twelve, A.B. Bruce Master Plan of Evangelism, Robert Coleman Produced by Faith Bible Church - https://www.faith-bible.net