Who is
David?
My name is David Cantillo, and I am a pioneer pastor - someone who began a church and through the first years... just like you.
I wish I had known then what I know now ... so let me share some of my journey and help you in yours.
WHO IS A COMPLETE PASTOR?
• Not the greatest pastor• Not the smartest pastor• Not the most talented pastor• Not the best-looking pastor?But someone who can function asa Minister, a Leader and a Manager...
Minister...
Minister
to the flock
with Anointing
A minister is someone that has a special relationship with God concerning a calling to do a particular work. All Christians are called to ministry (service), but there is also a special calling upon some to be the voice of God, to lead others and to shepherd a congregation.
An anointed minister, then, is a person who can influence others directly to salvation and a closer walk with God. Many people confuse the anointing with emotion,
Counseling
Ministry to the people also occurs when the pastor relates personally to someone, giving counsel regarding issues they are facing. Understanding how the human mind works and something about personality helps the pastor to understand people.
Coaching and Mentoring
Counseling helps people overcome their problems, but another form of guidance occurs when the pastor coaches and mentors people to help them develop and mature. This type of relationship is interested in helping people grow in achieving tasks (coaching) and in overall personal growth (mentoring).
The Work of the Minister
What exactly is the work of ministers? The following paragraphs outline the most important activities that a minister must do to serve God and the people.
Praying
The minister must have a close relationship with God and be assured of his calling in order to be effective. This only comes through consistent, fervent prayer. A large part of the minister’s prayer should be devoted to receiving direction from God. Rather than asking God to bless what the minister desires to do, he should strive to do what God does, knowing that it will be blessed.
Preaching
Preaching brings conviction through the word of God to people. It is aimed to reach the heart and cause a decision that will change the person. Preaching is both an art and a science in that the preacher must prepare in a systematic manner, but the delivery and inspiration are dependent on many factors, including the life of the preacher and, of course, the Holy Spirit.
Leader...
Leadership
A pastor also functions as a leader to the church. A general definition of a leader in an organization is someone that has influence on the course of the organization. Leadership may be defined by position or by influence, and in a church, the pastor usually has both.
Vision
Without vision there is no direction for the pastor and his followers. No matter how good a minister he may be, the congregation that follows will not be able to mobilize its efforts in the right direction if the leader doesn’t have and communicate a clear vision.
Mission of the Church
After vision has been established, the mission and strategy of the church can be defined.
Mission is what the ministry is supposed to be doing to accomplish the vision. Vision is descriptive and may be lengthy, but mission should be concise and powerful. A church may conceive of a vision first, and then develop a mission, or the process may happen in reverse order.
SMARTER GOALS...
SMARTER Goals are:
Specific: the actual activity is focused and detailed.
Measurable: the goal is related to some number or date for its completion.
Actionable: the goal is something active that can be seen and clearly defined.
Risky: good goals are beyond the comfort zone and cause the church to stretch and grow in order to achieve them.
Time-keyed: every goal needs to be aligned with a time frame. Achievement goals should have a deadline; habit goals should have a frequency.
Exciting: goals should be related to important values of the church so that work is meaningful, not boring.
Relevant: goals must be appropriate to the overall philosophy and vision of the church.
Strategy
The strategy of the local church may change from time to time as goals are accomplished or the mission is modified. This change has to be intentional and based on evaluations of past strategies that either worked or did not. When establishing a new strategy, it is important to make sure that the leadership is on board before making an announcement to all.
Manager...
The pastor as Manager
Pastors have the job of organizing the church for work. Work can be evangelizing, running a service, or taking care of a building. The process is still the same: defining the tasks to be done, motivating people to do it, setting up the structure that will be used, assigning people to various roles, and supervising the work.
GUIDING WITH WISDOM
A Body and a Building
The Bible uses two metaphors for understanding the functioning of the church: it is a body and it is a building. In today’s words, we could say the church is both an organism and an organization. In various places of the New Testament, the apostles mix metaphors to coin such interesting concepts as the “edifying of the body” and “growing of a temple” made of “lively stones.” THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
Wisdom
The most important quality to have when a pastor begins to organize the church is wisdom. It requires a great deal of wisdom to put together teams and select leaders. It requires wisdom to know what work to do exactly when, how to communicate goals and priorities to others, how to encourage and train workers, how to supervise the work, and how and when to give praise.
