Advice for Young Pastors in the First Five Years of Ministry (Part 2)

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

The following is the second in a two-part series on pastors surviving the first five years of ministry, by Alex D. Montoya, senior pastor at First Fundamental Bible Church in Whittier, Californi., and author of the book, Preaching with a Passion. In Part 1, he addressed the first two of five key instructions that Paul gave to Timothy in ministry: be an example of a believer and build your ministry on the Word of God. Here, he addresses the last three of the five instructions: make sure of your calling to the ministry, show progress in your ministry, and take care of your spiritual life.

The first five years of a new ministry are the most challenging. The average tenure for pastors in a church is three years. For youth pastors, it is even less than that. Most new missionaries do not return to the field after the first term.

In short, knowing how to navigate the first years of ministry is exceedingly important. For new young pastors, this can be a make-or-break time.

Let us look at the five key instructions that Paul gave to Timothy. These are the key factors that will help a new young minister survive the first years of ministry.

Make sure of your calling to the ministry

The third exhortation Paul gives to Timothy is to have confidence in his call to the ministry: “Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of the hands by the presbytery” (1 Timothy 4:14). Timothy in his timidity was prone to neglect the call that God had given him (see 2 Timothy 1:6; also Titus 2:15). The new pastor must be assured of his calling into the pastoral ministry. These early years are the time for that calling to be assured.

The inward call

The pastor has two callings. The inner calling of God upon his life is that which God confirms in his heart. The outer calling bestowed on by the church affirming his call to the ministry. The young man’s invitation by the church to consider him as their pastor and the subsequent election or selection by the church or elders comprise the outward call to the ministry. The inner call is usually sensed as they prepare for ministry in seminary or Bible college.

That same call is confirmed as they begin to serve the Lord in the pastorate. The inner call comes by God equipping the man for the ministry. God bestows upon him at least two spiritual gifts that are essential for pastoral ministry: the gift of leadership and the gift of teaching (Romans 12:6-8). The inner calling will be affirmed by a growing love for the pastorate and by the fruit which his ministry produces in the exercise of his gifts and calling.

If during these first years, the young pastor doubts his calling or senses a diminishing desire to serve as pastor, it may be God’s confirmation that he is not called to the office. In which case, the pastor should graciously resign and follow God’s will for his life. He should not out of a sense of guilt harm himself, his family, and the church by pursing a calling that he has not been given.

The outward call

The other calling that the preacher has is the outward call given to him by the authority of the church under the leading of the Holy Spirit (Acts 20:28). The church senses a man’s call to the ministry and that call is confirmed by the election or appointment to the office, and by the official ordination of the man to the office of pastor (Acts 14:27; 1 Timothy 5:22).

The young pastor should not neglect this calling nor the authority that comes with it (Titus 2:15). There is a special tool provided by the church for the pastor that seems to be neglected by both church and leaders, that being the church’s constitution and by-laws. These are the official doctrines which the church holds and the rules of governance adopted by the church. It is the pastor’s job to uphold the constitution and by-laws, to teach them to the members, and to insist that the church be governed by them.

The importance of a constitution and by-laws

The key to church unity is when all its members honor and live by their church constitution and by-laws. It cannot act legally outside its rules of governance. If the church elected the pastor to the office of pastor, then he is to govern by the directives given him by the constitution.

He cannot be removed on the whim of a few influential and disgruntled members. He can only be removed by the process outlined in the rules of governance. The young pastor should know it very well, see to it that all the meetings are governed by it, and then minister with the confidence it gives him to serve the Lord and His church. I recall a time when in the early years a group in the church wanted to dismiss me. I had recourse to the calling God gave me personally and through the call which the church gave me. It helped me to stay faithful and undeterred in the ministry. Eventually they left, but I stayed and survived the early years.

Show progress in your ministry

The fourth exhortation to Timothy was to minister in such a way as to show progress in his ministry. “Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all” (1 Timothy 4:15).

The new pastor is usually hired to carry on the work of the retiring pastor, or to get the church out of a decaying rut, or to take the church to the next level. No new pastor is hired to simply be a caretaker pastor. Any man called to the ministry and worth his salt is going to show progress in the ministry, especially if he is getting paid to do it full time. Paul’s advice to Timothy to “take pains” means to care dearly about the work God has given him.

Don’t get distracted

The young pastor must make his pastoral ministry the main thing in his life. There should be no other preoccupations. He will have the temptation to be involved in responding to invitations to preach elsewhere, or to take up a commitment outside his duties. He may even use his time for personal and family affairs. Like Timothy, the young pastor should “be absorbed in them.”  I recommend a full forty hour week, not including Sunday. Keep office hours and park your car where people can see it. Make a schedule that allows for counseling of church members and inquirers. Communicate to the church that you are engaged in performing the duty of pastor. Let your wife and family know that you are “going to work,” and that there is family time to come (schedule it in).

Pursue the congregation’s spiritual growth

The point being that the new pastor must show progress in his ministry. The whole goal of ministry is to “present every man complete in Christ,” which takes much labor and striving (Colossians 1:28-29). He must see Christian growth in the congregation, and the congregation must sense that they are growing spiritually. A church which does not grow spiritually feels frustrated and discouraged, and will soon call for a change in leadership. The new pastor should not endeavor to change much that is in place. He must understand that congregations are not interested in lots of changes. Instead of revamping the whole order of things, he should strive to improve and perfect that which is most beneficial to the life of the church. These are the real ministries which result in growth. Leave the rest untouched (until the fifth year).

Take care of your spiritual life

The fifth and final exhortation involves Timothy’s spiritual life. Paul exhorts him: “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:16). Like Timothy, the new pastor must have a self-watch for his own walk with the Lord and for his own personal devotion to the truth of God’s Word. Some do not make it through the first years of ministry because they do not take care of the pitfalls in ministry. Pastoral ministry can be dangerous to the soul.

The young pastor must be ever on guard against the three deadly “G’s”: the girls, the gold, and the glory. Moral failure among ministers is rampant in America. Every day I read about some minister falling into some form of moral failure. The ministry is full of such temptations and those who would tempt us to moral failure. Set up the proper guards.

Guarding against the three deadly G’s

Cultivate a good marriage. Do not sacrifice your marriage for the ministry. Minister to your wife; make sure she knows you truly love her, and listen to her counsel when she warns you about certain dangers. If your marriage is in difficulty, do not neglect to get good marriage counseling. Practice the “Billy Graham Rule,” which is not to be alone with a woman who is not your wife. Always be under the watchful of eye of someone else. Be a man’s man, and teach your wife and other women to counsel women.

Be on guard against covetousness and greed. Most of us will be underpaid in the ministry; we should know that from the start. We need to heed Peter’s exhortation (1 Peter 5:1-13). Paul gives a similar exhortation (1 Timothy 6:6-10). The young pastoral family needs to live on a budget, live frugally, and live by faith. After all, you work for the Lord not the church. If needs arise, then let the leadership know. Nevertheless, the new pastor must take great care not to take that which is not his. Nor should he place himself in situations that may tempt him to compromise or even steal.

In addition, he must guard against the “glory” that comes through being the pastor of the church and preacher of the Word of God. It is not only neophytes but also seasoned pastors who can “become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil” (1 Timothy 3:6; see 2 Timothy 4:10). The great temptation today is to become autocratic, like CEO’s, and thus incur the downfall that comes with it (1 Peter 5:3).

Guard your life and doctrine

We should adopt the attitude of John the Baptist. When it comes to ministry, we are simply a voice for Christ, Whose shoes we are not even worthy to untie. When all is said and done, He must increase and we must decrease (John 1:23, 27; 3:30). A young pastor is “not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think” (Romans 12:3). Rather, he must endeavor to have the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5-8).

Finally, be on guard to the doctrines you believe. The temptation to stray from the truth is always there. Our doctrinal convictions should be firmly established before we embark on a pastoral call. We should not receive a call from a church that we do not agree with doctrinally or a church that we cannot affirm wholeheartedly. It is not ethical to split the church nor to start a new church with some of the members of the congregation over a difference of doctrine that you knew you didn’t agree with when you were hired.

The honeymoon

The first year or years of ministry are called our “honeymoon years.” Just like in marriage, the first days can be exhilarating but can also turn into some difficult and dark days. It all depends on how we respond to the expectations and challenges of marriage. The same is true of the first years of our first church. The “honeymoon” can be short lived or it can endure for the length of our ministries. Much depends on how we start. May this advice to Timothy be of help to our precious new young pastor as he launches out into his first church!

©2023, 2025 Alex D. Montoya. All rights reserved. Used with permission.