The head of Australia's leading ministry apprenticeship program hopes to raise up ten thousand people to spread the gospel throughout the nation.
Ministry Training Strategy (MTS) National Director Ben Pfahlert says this month's upcoming Challenge conferences are just one stage of the plan to see a massive increase in ministry workers nationwide
"We are challenging people to do a two-year ministry apprenticeship under the guidance of someone who is already a trained pastor," Mr Pfahlert says.
Mr Pfahlert has not set a small target either.
"I am seeking to raise up ten thousand pastors for Australia " ten thousand gospel workers to evangelise Australia."
Numbers urgently needed
He says recent NCLS data has motivated him to set this goal.
"On any given Sunday around 8.8 per cent of Australians are in church, we might generously assume that half are evangelical. That means over 95 per cent of Australians are not in a position where they know what Jesus came to do or how to trust in him," Mr Pfahlert says.
"We want to get evangelism high on the agenda."
A new initiative that Mr Pfahlert wants to emphasise at the conferences is coaching people to think through decisions for full-time ministry between annual conferences.
"We want to challenge people regularly and annually, so coaching is getting people into relationships with experienced pastors to think through a ministry development plan," he says.
"By the end of October we are hoping to lock in at least five coaching stations where people meet five times a year to work at their ministry plan."
According to Mr Pfahlert, the Rev Andrew Lim at St Andrew's Cathedral and the Rev Gavin Perkins at Christ Church, St Ives are already practicing this coaching style.
Reaching a different demographic
Mr Pfahlert says he is also trying work out how people from non-tertiary backgrounds can be encouraged into taking up ministry apprenticeships.
"I am keen for tradespeople to think about doing apprenticeships because 83 per cent of Austrlians don't have tertiary eduction and may be intimated by those with universty education," he says.
"Because people communicate in different ways, it might better to use tradies to reach tradies and technicians to reach technicians."
An outdoor adventure Challenge conference called "Challenge: 6 Foot Track' is slated for the weekend of March 15 and 16, 2008.
"Rather than a sit down conference, we want to create a Challenge boot camp," Mr Pfahlert says.
"It might be a 40km bush walk over a weekend with interviews happening on the walk and Bible talks after setting up camp in the evening and before we head off in the mornings."
There will be three Challenge conferences on in Sydney throughout weekends in September beginning on September 14. Dean of Sydney Phillip Jensen and evangelist the Rev John Chapman will speak at all three conferences with Mr Pfahlert and the Rev Tim Booker sharing speaking duties as well.
