Let the Next Generation Preach

Preach the Gospel

I remember so well the morning I was sitting thinking about an up-coming ministry trip. The previous such trip had been to Norway when my job was to do all the administration – to organise the stops, the speaking and ministry schedule, and then to be part of the ministry team praying for folk, and giving words of prophecy, laying on of hands and healing. Imagine my surprise then, when the pastor of our ‘home’ or host church on this next trip asked us to split the team into two so we could preach and minister in two or three different places on the Sunday. I was to preach at one of the services !! Very scary moment !!!

The day before we left for the trip, my phone rang and a lady I have known for a while said, “I have a word for you.” Then she read this passage over me as a prophecy. 2 Timothy 4:1-5 “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:  Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.  For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.  But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” All subsequently went fine on the trip. I’m not saying I preached up a storm but it was OK – despite my nerves.

So this morning, when our church announced the preachers for the day, I was excited for them. Pastor had chosen four of the rising, younger generation to share the platform, each bringing a different perspective on Psalm 84. As far as I knew, none had ever preached before but Pastor was bringing through the next generation of leaders. It is a brave decision to give your pulpit over to one novice, let alone four of them. I daresay, had Pastor chosen perhaps for them to share the preaching of the Gospel, it would have worked out just as well. As it was, it was a resounding success. None of the new people were very young but also none had ever been asked to preach before, and it was obvious the Lord was with them. The anointing was there, the presence was there, the ministry was there. It was excellent.

It was exciting to see a new generation of preachers being birthed into their calling. It was even more exciting to sense Holy Spirit’s approval of the whole meeting. How many other Pastors are secure enough in their church to hand the pulpit over to untrained and untried preachers. These young people fulfilled 1 Tim 4:1-5 and they did so admirably. Sure they were nervous, sure they were a little uncertain, sure they tripped over the odd word here and there. But God birthed four budding preachers today. Who knows if we may have seen the very first sermon of another Wesley or another Spurgeon.

It is surely time to step out of our comfort zones and allow God to birth the next generation of preachers of His Gospel. It is time to give the younger members the opportunity to try their wings – some will surely fly and soar like eagles. Everyone agreed afterwards that we had seen something special today.

How about your church? Are you birthing the next generation into their callings or will you, like so many before you, regard their gifting as a threat and stifle them – maybe even get rid of the threat?