7 Ways to Shepherd People to the Global Marketplace 1

As a teenager, I was a member of an excellent church. The Lord used those brothers and sisters to bring me to faith. My passion for expositional preaching and evangelism developed with that community.

However, I was provided very little guidance from church leaders when I shared my calling to pastoral ministry. Don’t get me wrong. I was affirmed and encouraged in my calling. I was given an opportunity to preach and teach classes. I was encouraged to go to seminary.

But I received very little instruction of how one “becomes” a pastor. What next, now that I had experienced this call? I had to learn by experience. I had to ask questions, lots of questions. I was thrown into the deep end of the pool and by God’s grace learned how to swim on my own.

I do not think my journey into the ministry is unusual.

Here is a thought: If the Church provides very little guidance to developing pastors, how much less does she provide to the 99.9% of Her members considering the marketplace?

If you are a regular at this blog, you know I periodically challenge church leaders to recognize that equipping the saints for the work of the ministry (Eph 4:11-12) involves shepherding them to the marketplace. For it is there they will impact the world with the gospel. It is there they are able to leverage their passions, talents, abilities, and degrees for the advancement of the Kingdom among the nations.

The Church wants to be part of major life matters: salvation, marriages, births, and burials–but not vocational choices. Why? Maybe the Church sees little value in this matter. Maybe providing such counsel is foreign to elders. Maybe it is because the sacred-secular dichotomy remains with us.

The selection of a college major or vocational path is one of the most important decisions a person will make in life. This decision establishes a path on which the personal will walk for many years, possibly a lifetime. The Body of Christ needs to be there for young adults in this process.

I want to provide you with seven ways to shepherd your students to the field. Below is the latest whimsical video on my YouTube channel. Students are not scary (well, maybe a little). Providing them leadership in this area is not an exotic task. Pastor, you are not going on a dangerous safari.

Watch. Share. Discuss. Go.