I Swore I Would Never Go Into Ministry…Now What?

I started in ministry reluctantly.  In fact, my wife and I swore that we would never go into ministry at all.

Both of our fathers were ministers, and their ministries ended painfully.  Additionally, we didn’t want to put any of our children through the stresses of ministry life that we had endured.

As you can imagine, swearing off ministry was just a pathway to repentance and learning to trust God further.  Three years after our “vow”, I was in seminary, one year later, I became a ruling elder, and soon after, I was planting my first church.

Throughout it all, God used an amazing mentor in our lives.  He showed us that God’s grace was greater than any fear that we might have about ministry life.  He demonstrated the Gospel to us, shared his own failures, and reminded us that God’s grace was sufficient.

That mentorship changed our lives. 

But now, twenty years later, I realize that not every minister has a mentor or coach.  Despite having elders and deacons, many pastors feel alone when it comes to encouragement and support. 

That’s why I started Church Training Partners. 

We provide training, coaching, encouragement, and strategic planning for churches, pastors, and church planters.  The coaches at CTP have planted seven churches, coached hundreds of planters, and would like to be an encouragement to you.

Reach out to us today to talk about coaching, pastor’s wife coaching, and in-person & zoom seminars.  Visit www.churchtrainingpartners.com to find encouragement from our blogs, our podcast, and look to 2021 when we will be offering downloadable training videos directly from the site.  

More than anything, we hope that you find encouragement from your one true hope, Jesus Christ.  As always, please let us know if we can help in any way.

TE Gordon Duncan

www.churchtrainingpartners.com

919-412-8161