Defining the Under-Shepherds Responsibility

THE MINISTRY OF THE UNDERSHEPHERD

The responsibilities of the under-shepherd will vary of course according to auxiliary and function. But one common thread in the responsibility of all under-shepherds is to maintain spirituality in the group that they are over.

Let’s use an assistant pastor for instance. The assistant pastor is responsible for all the auxiliary heads. This includes making sure they are all walking in the spirit and leading and governing their facets of ministry in a manner which is pleasing to God.

It is the responsibility of that assistant pastor to make random visits to the meetings of these auxiliaries, discerning the spiritual location of the auxiliary head as well as the auxiliary members. The assistant pastor should make sure that the word handed down from their senior leadership is being discipled into every auxiliary. It is the responsibility of the assistant pastor to make sure that multiple shut-ins, bible studies, and evangelism are in place.

The assistant pastor should periodically attend these various ministerial platforms. They are also

responsible to communicate his/her assessment of these auxiliaries to senior leadership. It is also the responsibility of the assistant pastor to establish and maintain the global aspect of the ministry.

It is my belief that if an assistant pastor is partaking in all that has been listed, they will not be under-worked neither overwhelmed but will consistently move the ministry

forward which is the ultimate goal.

As forestated, there is a common responsibility that connects all ministries; that is working in the lives of people. This is the most important operation of the ministry. Let us explore the responsibilities of the associate pastor/auxiliary heads if you will.

RESPONSIBILITY

DEFINING THE UNDERSHEPHERD

It is their responsibility to not lessen the spiritual integrity of the ministry through neglect of spiritual operations in their auxiliaries. For example, they are responsible for taking a group of people who originally thought they were just joining a church auxiliary to find themselves moving rapidly in the spirit. They have the responsibility of revealing to that group of people what they are in God.

This takes place through settings of discipleship which is why the auxiliary heads must:

study to show themselves approved,

• be well versed in the word
• have wisdom in dealing in the lives of people.

They hold the power to make or break a ministry from within.They must always keep in mind, “God has entrusted me with the care of these people. Therefore I will schedule weekly bible

studies and monthly shut-ins to ensure that those I lead are not the same as they were when they first came in.”

It is the responsibility of the associate pastor/auxiliary head to really

get to know those that they lead, even in settings outside of the church. It is their responsibility to get to know the needs in the lives of those that follow them. Associate pastors are

also responsible for monitoring the church attendance of those that they lead.Church attendance is most telling as to the spiritual location of an individual.

MINISTERIAL STIMULATION

In addition, associate pastors are responsible for creating platforms of ministerial stimulation. This is an area we have never really touched on. To explain; if you only show people the harsh struggle in fulfilling ministerial responsibility without a means of stimulation it is more than likely that the people you lead will come up short. The spiritual lack is due to a lack of happiness. You see, our mental state plays a great part in our energy.

The bible states, The joy of the Lord is my strength. This stands to reason, when there is no joy, there is no strength, when there is no strength there is no energy. How can one work ministry without joy; not having the strength to be consistent? In contrast, if you ministerially stimulate the people through recreational projects outside the church their minds will stay more connected with the ministry itself.

One of the rules of marketing is the observation of human attention span. People are more likely to fall asleep in a movie theater watching a long movie than they are watching a show on television. This is because of the commercials, which provides the mind with a break from its focus on the movie.

The same is needed in ministry; often people need a break from duty and responsibility to revive themselves so that their focus might be sharp. Believe or not, this can be accomplished through

simple things like cook-outs, bowling nights, game nights and get-a-ways or retreats. These activities allow the members to enjoy the ministry they are in.

I hope we are all beginning to see how vital the roles of assistant and associate pastors are. When leaders understand and fulfill purpose, the ministry will grow