Schools, colleges, and seminaries have made a valuable investment in my life and ministry. In fact, authors and speakers whom I have never met personally have been used by God to enlarge my understanding and shape my thinking. But as I reflect on the last 35 years since the Lord called me to preach, I am increasingly conscious that it has been specific people who have poured into my life and influenced me the most.

Institutions teach. Individuals train. While academic preparation is valuable in every field, there is no substitute for personal and practical input from those who have passed this way before us. It is through one-on-one mentoring and modeling that knowledge is translated into wisdom.

“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).

This is why schools most often have an internship, practicum, or apprenticeship for varying fields of study. And this is why churches must return to the Paul/Timothy model if we expect to raise up another generation of servants for the Lord’s work. This cannot be relegated to educational organizations or transferred to online platforms. Everything reproduces after its own kind, and Christian workers must always seek to develop other Christian workers.

Who did that for you? Who are you doing that for now?

This burden has grown recently as I have heard many lament the decreasing number of young people going into ministry, and seen the diminishing view many have of God’s work. As an evangelist, I want to see many more young men enlisted, equipped, engaged, and encouraged to do gospel ministry! We all must seek to develop others in the work of the Lord.

This summer we are partnering with our home church to host an internship for three young men who have just finished their first year of Christian college. A “journeyman” is someone who has fulfilled an apprentice program and has developed experience and competence in a specific field. The Gospel Journeyman Program seeks to instill God’s intent for the evangelist and the local church through a combination of instruction and practical application. 

Students will spend part of each week helping the pastor with local church evangelism in our community, and another part of the week with the Enjoying the Journey team learning the aspects of itinerant, online, and print evangelism. Our prayer is that they will learn principles for personal, local, national, and international evangelism.

Paul spoke of Timothy in 1 Thessalonians 3:2 as “…our brother, and minister of God, our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ. ” We are excited about taking young brothers in Christ who have been called into the ministry and helping them to become more effective fellow-laborers in the gospel.

Pray for us. Pray for laborers (Matthew 9:38). And do what you can where you are to help young people find their place in the greatest work in the world.

If you would like to invest in the Gospel Journeyman Program, you may do so HERE.