I left you on the island of Crete so you could complete our work there and appoint elders in each town as I instructed you. Titus 1:5 NLT
Paul left Titus in Crete to coordinate new church work by appointing elders in each town and instructing them in faith, conduct and responsibilities. Paul did the same during his own church planting trips (Acts 14:23). In both cases the churches had been planted before elders were appointed, and were functioning as the Body of Christ, although immaturely.
Whether you coordinate such church planting for your region or mentor the coordinators, you should know what are the essential tasks of a regional coordinator of new church work. He plans and arranges for the churches to do what the New Testament requires of a church. His duties include the following:
- Identify neglected people groups in your area and plan for church planters to enter all of them.
2. Build up new church leaders by mentoring them, helping them to understand and obey the instructions of the Lord and of his apostles. Provide a menu or index from which for trainers and trainees select topics, activities or materials that correspond to what a new church is lacking. Demonstrate skills and conduct that the new trainers and leaders must acquire.
3. Develop churches by helping their new leaders initiate all ministries required by the New Testament.
4. Plan with all leaders the specific steps to take to keep churches multiplying by winning new believers and by preparing new shepherds to serve them.
5. Help pastoral leaders identify and mentor apprentices who lead new churches.
6. Provide training materials geared to mobilizing new leaders of new churches. Keep supplies of materials available to all participants throughout your region. This requires recruiting helpers, because where workers follow these New Testament guidelines, the task of procuring, copying, stocking, and distributing training materials to leaders who mentor others becomes a huge challenge.
7. Arrange occasional training seminars for leaders and elders, to supplement the mentoring and to build a sense of joyful unity among the older and newer leaders. In parts of northern India, regional coordinators are busy men who, in addition to mentoring leaders, lead training seminars for them twice a month. Many new churches are being planted, an average of one a day in many regions.
Our prayer is that you will give diligence to implement these duties of regional coordinators.
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