The MAP Toolkit Cover Story

The image of a pastor carrying a bag of tools and walking to his new pastoral assignment has stayed in my mind since I got the vision of a ministry toolkit in 1992.

Of course, pastors have been trained and assumed to be ready to preach, organise and lead the worship services, do pastoral care, conduct special ceremonies for funerals, dedications, anniversaries, weddings and other pastoral matters.

There is no argument about the Bible, the Word of God, as the only foundation of any pastoral ministry. However, I don’t see The Bible as a “tool” because I believe it is the Word of God. And to understand the Word of God, we are using different kinds of Bible study tools (e.g. commentaries, Strong’s numbers, concordances, etc.).

How about the management of the institutional or organisational side of the church? How would you start and implement an effective pastoral ministry?

Starting pastoral ministry while studying in the seminary, some of the questions that came to me when I started working in a 60-year-old church at that time were:

• What should I do first?
• How will I lead the church leaders and members to appreciate and participate actively in the ministry?
• What planning method works effectively for the church?

If you’re a pastor or a church leader reading this blog, what were your questions when starting your pastoral or ministry assignment? How confident were you?

Like me and others, were you grappling for resources to use, researching and studying what would be the best tool to apply to your new pastorate?

The need for a toolkit

Let me ask you this, “Have you ever seen the doctor using his medical book in examining a patient or have you seen an auto mechanic holding his “How to Repair a Car” book to check your car?

Of course, the doctor and the auto mechanic have their toolkits with them.

Have you encountered a ministry toolkit that functions like the diagnostic tools that a medical doctor or a mechanic uses?

So the mechanic might have some specific tools for a particular car model, but the necessary tools are the same for every vehicle.

Regardless of who comes to see the doctor, young and old, Kiwi or non-Kiwi, he uses the same tools. The stethoscope is one diagnostic tool that we usually see that the doctor is using.

The Ministry Appreciation and Participation Toolkit works in the same principle.

Yes, it’s a toolkit that a pastor or a ministry leader carries and uses on his ministry assignment, just like the image you see above.

Let me stress that the MAP Toolkit is not a substitute for The Bible.

Again, there is no argument about the Bible, the Word of God, as the only foundation of any pastoral ministry. However, I don’t see The Bible as a “tool” because I believe it is the Word of God. And to understand the Word of God, we are using different kinds of Bible study tools (e.g. commentaries, Strong’s numbers, concordances, etc.).

The MAP Toolkit is a set of ministry tools that the pastor or ministry leader can effectively implement in their pastoral ministry.

IMAGE DESIGN: Barbi Larkins Art & Design

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