A pastoral assistant is an administrative–support role, which in essence means it is a catch-all position. As a pastoral assistant, you must be willing and ready to get your hands dirty. Sometimes the trash needs to be taken out or the dishes in the office sink need to be washed. At the same time, you must take your studies seriously and prepare for the occasions you will be called upon to fill the pulpit or to teach Sunday school.
When Paul met young Timothy, he saw that Timothy had gifts. Nevertheless, these giftings did not qualify Timothy to be a pastor; he first had to be trained. It took time and energy from Paul to cultivate the gifts God had given to Timothy. As pastoral assistants we should be thankful for the time and energy our pastors put into training us, but that training means nothing unless we are resolved to put it into practice.
The Aim of a Pastoral Assistant
Ministers are busy men with a lot on their plates, and it is your job to see where you can be of service to them. The pastors do not have time to hold your hand and guide you at every step. Here are a couple of things you may already know, but we can always use encouragement and a refresher from a peer to reorient any bad habits we have fallen into. Each point requires the necessity to be proactive.
First, you cannot afford to discount that you are to be a pastoral assistant to the glory of God. Know this, dear brother, the church does not need you, but the church and your pastors can be served really well if you labor to the glory of God. God cannot gain any essential glory, but we can participate in ascribing glory to Him as we labor for the cause of His name.[1]
Second, you should serve to the glory of God by praying for your pastors. You sit in many meetings, including elders’ meetings, where you sometimes become privy to information that others are not. This includes prayer requests the elders share about themselves or their families. Be wise and discreet with this information (as you should be with all of the information discussed in the elders’ meetings), but make sure that you lift these requests to God in prayer for your pastors.
The church does not need you, but the church and your pastors can be served really well if you labor to the glory of God.
Third, speak well of your pastors among the congregation. Do not be shy to let members know their dedication to the church. You see things that the rest of the congregation does not see, and the weight that they carry on a regular basis. Be a cause for good in the church by working to preserve the character and reputation of your pastors.
Fourth, one of the best ways you can serve your pastors is by living a holy life that is filled with the joy of Christ.[2] Hebrews 12:2 says, “For the joy that was set before Him [He] endured the Cross.” Through our labors we are able to participate in the joy of Jesus Christ in our everyday lives and vocations. And be astounded at the way the Lord has given you the privilege to aid His ministers in the church that He bought with His own blood!
Fifth, you should be regularly praying for the members of your church. Pray for the parents, that their children would come to Christ. Pray that God would use the gifts that He has given to them to grow, to expand the territory and membership of the church. You often will hear special prayer requests that members give that others in the congregation are not aware of. Every elders’ meeting (twice a month) my pastors pray through 24 families in our church. Use the model of prayer that the pastors pattern for you to pray for the congregation on a regular basis. This is good training for us, brothers.
Lastly, be an exemplary church member. Many members of the church get no credit for the work that they do behind the scenes, but you get some credit for your work. This is based on the fact that your Christian service is more visible to some extent. Do not work to be seen or praised, work for the glory of God.[3]
Important to Keep in Mind
Family comes before your ministry. A great lesson that I have learned from my pastors is that offering your family on the altar of ministry is sin, and out of order from God’s design. This goes for all vocations. In our labor, we must maintain our priorities as Christian, husband, father, pastoral assistant, seminary student, and everything else after that, in that order.[4]
Through our labors we are able to participate in the joy of Jesus Christ in our everyday lives and vocations.
Most importantly, do not neglect to pray with your wife (for an encouraging and challenging message on marriage see here; for a helpful teaching on family worship see here). Remember, you are studying to be a pastor, but she is studying to be a pastor’s wife. Establish a pattern of prayer together every day. If possible get on your knees together before bed and pray for God’s help and blessing. This practice brought me the same fear as the first time I led my wife Caitlyn in family worship. It takes courage and the boldness of the Spirit to become vulnerable in front of your wife as you both come before the throne of grace. Once this pattern becomes a way of your marital life, the spiritual bond is cemented.
…share your faith as a couple by prayer together. I realize that praying out loud can be intimidating for some Christians, and we should be patient with each other in this. But there is nothing like spending time in prayer each day as a couple, offering thanksgiving together for the day’s blessings and petitioning God for the grace you need. Moreover, don’t put off prayer if your spouse asks you to pray together at some point during the day when you don’t normally pray together. Men, put down the book, set aside your tools, turn away from the screen, and pray. Women, turn off the stove, put down the phone, and pray. Baxter said, “It is a mercy to have so near a friend to be a helper to your soul.”[5]
Taking care of our wives will help us be able to better cover all of our bases of responsibility. In particular, this gives us the ability to serve the church more effectively, as well as, giving our wives the spiritual nourishment necessary to fulfill all of the delegated stewardship they have in the home. The Puritans exemplified this practice; we should follow their lead.[6]
Concluding Thoughts
If you are a pastoral assistant, you most likely started as an intern, and afterwards were asked to gain more responsibility through a staffed position. Praise the Lord that you have been blessed with the opportunity to work more closely with the pastors of your church. These are the men God has called to lead the local congregation that you are a member of, and they have been ordained by “Christ…who was God personally manifest in the flesh,” and you get to learn from them on a regular basis.[7] Serve them heartily and prayerfully as they seek to guide the church through their ministry. Leverage these privileges by asking questions like, “Why did you address this specific issue this way?” I have learned many things from a simple question like that. You are watching under-shepherds of the flock hone their craft before your eyes. Week to week they are going from prayer, to counseling, to sermons, and back to prayer again. Take note of this pattern, brothers.
If we do our jobs well, we will bless our church and our pastors. Let us press on in the work that God has called us to do. I give the Apostle Paul the last word,
“But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them.” (2 Timothy 3:14)
[1] Thomas Watson, A Complete Body of Divinity (Port St. Lucie, FL: Solid Ground Christian Books, 2016), 5.
[2] Willem Teellinck, The Path of True Godliness, Joel R. Beeke, ed. Annemie Godbehere, trans. (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2003), 275–82.
[3] Did you catch the Chiastic structure?
A. Work for the Glory of God
B. Pray for your Pastors
C. Serve the Pastors Strategically
C.’ Serve the Pastors by Being Holy
B.’ Pray for the Members
A.’ Work for the Glory of God
[4] Thomas K. Ascol, ed., Dear Timothy: Letters on Pastoral Ministry, rev. ed. (Cape Coral: Founders Press, 2016), 27–39. Also see, Lewis Bayly, The Practice of Piety (Morgan, PA: Soli Deo Gloria, 1992), 143–59; Joel R. Beeke, Puritan Reformed Theology: Historical, Experiential, and Practical Studies for the Whole of Life (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books), 413–24.
[5] Joel R. Beeke, Friends and Lovers: Cultivating Companionship and Intimacy in Marriage (Adelphi, MD: Cruciform Press, 2012), 26.
[6] For anyone interested in reading the Puritans but are intimidated by the size and form of their books, look into the Puritan Treasures for Today series where many important works are put into modern English without losing the doctrinal and practical substance of their message. Also, the Puritans wrote many books on marriage and family life, but this is no place for an exhaustive list. For a good introduction see Leland Ryken, Worldly Saints: The Puritans as They Really Were (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 1986), 48–54,84–87; J. I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1990), 397–420; Horton Davies, The Worship of the English Puritans (Morgan, PA: Soli Deo Gloria, 1997), 278–85; Lesley A. Rowe, The Life and Times of Arthur Hildersham: Prince Among Puritans (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2013), 37–41, 108–10; For a helpful work on the history and theology of catechesis see J. I. Packer and Gary A. Parrett, Grounded in the Gospel Building Believers the Old-Fashioned Way (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing House, 2010). Also, Founders has published helpful resources on catechetical instruction. For a useful introduction to the catechetical tradition among confessional Baptists, see Thomas J. Nettles and Steve Weaver, Teaching Truth and Training Hearts: The Study of Catechisms in Baptist Life rev. (Cape Coral, FL: Founders Press, 2017).
[7] Thomas Goodwin, Christ Set Forth and The Heart of Christ in Heaven for Sinners on Earth (Grand Rapids, MI: Soli Deo Gloria, 2021) 4:22.
