by Levi Landrigan (Heartland EFC, Central City, NE)

Who is discipling the disciple makers? Who is equipping the leaders? For many years, perhaps even decades, there's been a vacancy in training up the next generation of church leaders. The writing on the wall is evident. There will be hard times ahead for many churches if they don’t find a way to call, train up, and equip the next batch of leaders.

Colby Kinser brought this issue up at our district conference two years ago. I joined him and several other leaders from across Nebraska at Timberlake Ranch Camps, and, in response, we developed the Ministry Apprenticeship Program. As we rolled it out and released it to the public, we were ready to adjust it as needed. But what we really needed were Guinea pigs - apprentices who were willing to take the next step and grow as leaders. As the applications trickled in, one name caught my attention: Noah Jensen. I’d known Noah for a long time, but I wasn’t aware of all the work God had been doing in his life to prepare him for this season.

I was excited to see someone I knew join the program, but I was cautious, as well. Was Noah the right fit for MAP? Was MAP the right fit for Noah? Even if both answers were “yes,”, would we be able to find a church that would take a risk on this relatively untested program?

Well thanks to our sovereign God, all of these things have worked out better than I could have imagined. The congregation unanimously voted in favor of Noah and MAP. Noah eagerly began his studies and work at the church. I volunteered to be his coach, and we started regularly meeting.

During one of our conversations, he told me how he was having a hard time fitting his preaching style into the model that his senior pastor was teaching him. As he continued to share, I grew a bit nervous. His senior pastor and I have similar styles and approaches to how we prepare a sermon. I wasn’t sure how to help him until I remembered the many conversations that I’ve had with my senior pastor, Zeke Pipher. Zeke has a heart for training up the next generation of church leaders, and his process and style are quite different from mine. I thought it would be a good idea to set up a time where he could show Noah how he crafts a sermon. 

The three of us met up soon after that, and Noah was like a kid in a candy shop. He was so excited to ask questions and learn from Zeke. He loved it and left excited to start working on his sermon. 

Noah came back a few weeks later and gave us a test run of his sermon. We were able to give him instant feedback, and I was really excited to see much of what we worked on come out in the sermon he delivered to his church in January. Zeke and I spoke after Noah left, and we both agreed that helping upcoming leaders learn the art of preaching is a blessing for us, as well. 

It is such a gift and privilege to be a part of what God is doing through the Midwest District and the Ministry Apprenticeship Program.