READ: Acts 6:1-7
“…he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use…” – 2 Timothy 2:21
Apostle Peter came under pressure to leave his principal duties and to perform mainly social tasks (Acts 6). You can see from this Scripture that Peter’s main duty was to pray and to minister the Word. This is something that can be done by lay people.
Lay people can be taught to visit and counsel younger Christians, to witness, and to make spiritual gains through prayer. What I have just described is the work of a pastor.
Any honest reader will agree that a lay person can become a lay pastor. What is needed is a systematic approach of training lay people to become ministers. Do not limit a lay person because he is a professional in another field.
I recently visited one of our churches pastored by a female nurse. There were hundreds of people in the church and I gave glory to God. In a large house there are many vessels. God is using all kinds of people. Do not limit God to what YOU think with your little experience and limited knowledge.
Today, I have doctors who own clinics and at the same time pastor churches with hundreds of members. Today, I have many architects who do full-time architectural work and are very fruitful in ministry. I have pastors who work in banks and pastor large churches. There are pastors who are teachers, pharmacists, university lecturers, accountants, students and the list goes on!