What began as a discipleship process to help coach and develop the next generation of pastors in Central Florida has become a framework that is now being used to equip future pastors throughout the nation.
The minister equipping pipeline from the Florida Baptist Convention is a resource that any church, association or ministry network can use to mentor men called to ministry. And its creators say it’s a resource that is much needed and long overdue.
Patrick Coats, East region catalyst for the Florida Baptist Convention, said he started the equipping pipeline to help mentor those who sense God’s call to ministry. He said many of today’s churches no longer ask members if they have felt God’s call in their lives, as was done in the past.
“We wanted to help them understand their calling,” he said. “This connects them with mentors in the ministry so they can be guided to what God has called them to do.”
At the heart of the minister equipping pipeline are the “13 Core Essentials for Ministry Readiness.” These are subject areas that are taught to aspiring pastors to equip them for the ministry and give them an overview. And each of these is considered essential by many churches and senior pastors in search of pastoral candidates.
- The call
- What we believe
- Preaching and teaching
- Spiritual disciplines and discipleship
- Family and marriage
- Leadership
- Shepherding
- Multiplication
- God’s kingdom vision for pipeline ministry
- Church planting
- Stewardship
- Personal life and soul care
- Worship
‘Legacy’ in equipping ‘next generation’
Micah Whitley, who just completed his first year as pastor of Kingdom Covenant Church in Homestead, is one of the first four men to complete the pilot minister equipping pipeline program. He said the discipleship and stewardship components were standouts for him.
“I am very passionate about discipleship, and this gave me a reliable framework to develop this for my church,” he said. “The session on generosity and church finances really taught me how to approach this as a pastor. I didn’t have any of that background, and this provided tons of resources. My first year would have been very different without that, and not in a good way.”
The pipeline process calls for a variety of experienced pastors to teach each of these subject matters during weekly meetings that typically run about two hours. The total course lasts anywhere from 18 to 24 months, with some topics spread across multiple weeks. The pastor teaching each topic may do so in person or over a virtual call, making this program doable for churches big and small.
Coats said former Florida Baptist Executive Director Tommy Green and Micah Ferguson, director of Florida Baptists’ strategic initiatives, helped him develop the minister pipeline course. He started the pilot program about two years ago with four men that asked him to mentor them. All four were recognized for completing the pipeline process at the Florida Baptist State Convention annual meeting in November.
I believe our legacy hangs on how we equip the next generation.
“All four of those guys that we equipped through this program have been placed in churches in two years’ time,” Coats said. “This was started here in Florida, but we don’t mind sharing it. I believe our legacy hangs on how we equip the next generation.”
Erik Cummings, Florida Baptists’ Black multicultural catalyst, is currently leading the second group through the course and is currently in the fifth of the 13 core essentials. He expects to begin a third group in the second quarter of 2025. The current group is made up of men ranging form early 30s to early 60s.
“The ministry pipeline is for men who have been identified by their pastors who have displayed a call to ministry,” Cummings said. “The cohort equips these men for ministry preparedness, in allowing them to see if their call is to vocational or lay ministry. Our prayer is that after engaging the pipeline, these men will go on to not only serve in the local church, but also engage further ministry training.”
For those who decide to pursue further ministry training, both the Baptist University of Florida and Florida Baptist Financial Services are providing scholarships to those who complete the pipeline course, Coats said.
‘Catching on like wildfire’
And while this minister equipping pipeline originally started with Coats in his former role as Black multicultural catalyst in Florida, it can be used by anyone who feels called to Baptist ministry.
“This originated because of a need in the Black multicultural space, but this is a need for every church,” Coats said. “There are associations and churches in networks that are not Black that are adopting this and running with this. It is catching on like wildfire. This is a problem that is statewide and nationwide.”
The National African American Fellowship (NAAF), a fellowship of more than 4,000 predominately African American churches affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, will begin using the program in January, and Coats said the Florida Baptist Convention is also partnering with Ohio Baptists on this.
Whitley said he would highly recommend the minister equipping pipeline program not only to aspiring pastors, but also to anyone who wants to better understand church leadership and how to support pastors.
“The number one benefit is the wisdom you obtain and the relationships you have the opportunity to develop while in the pipeline,” he said. “I know I have 10 or more current pastors who I can call on or lean on or ask for advice. That is tremendous for me as a new pastor. You also develop great relationships with those in your cohort who are going through the same things as you are. It helps you to see that you are not alone.”
