One day as I was walking on a hillside, I saw something that I want to share with you. I was praying in tongues and walking along a footpath on one of the hills in Ghana. The entire hillside was covered with wild bushes and tall untamed grass. As I walked along, I saw a section within the wild grass measuring about 20 meters by 20 meters. In that particular section there were neatly planted pineapple plants. I could see the baby pineapples sprouting. That section of the hillside was very different from everywhere else.

The Spirit of the Lord spoke to me and said, “That section of the hillside is different because certain seeds have been planted there. That area of the hillside is different because some special investment has been made on that patch of ground.”

The Lord told me that the rest of the hillside can be likened to the general congregation which receives seeds of normal preaching. The special patch of ground that was yielding pineapples could be likened to the part of the church that received the special seeds of leadership and pastoral training.

If you sow the seeds of pastoral training you will soon have many more pastors and leaders around you.

Many people do not invest the seeds that give rise to leaders, pastors and shepherds. If you sow the seeds that train leaders, you will harvest a crop of well-seasoned leaders. I spend more time with my leaders than I do with the general congregation. At the moment, I’m at a camp in Ghana with some of the lay pastors of Lighthouse Chapel International. I will be teaching, sharing and personally interacting with them over the next few days.

Invest specially in leaders and potential pastors and they will grow up to become great ministers!

I have heard people criticizing me for starting churches with people whom they consider not to be pastors.  Please do not criticize someone who has been holding Shepherds’ Camps to train people. Criticize yourself for not having spent hours training your own lay people (ordinary church members)to be in the ministry.

Pastors must encourage their lay people to become something more than principled citizens of the country. YOU MUST ENCOURAGE THEM TO BECOME SOULWINNERS FOR JESUS. You must want them to be shepherds of God’s flock. You must want them to fulfill the Great Commission.

Dear pastor friend, I’m writing this blog just for you!  God told me to write it so that you will understand that lay people can and will help you to build your church.

Dear lay person, I’m writing this for you as well! God has a ministry for you. Please do not go to Heaven and discover that you did not even start your ministry before you died! Take what you are reading seriously and learn the art of shepherding and pastoring. Discover for yourself the joy of serving God as a layman.

Till i write to you again….be blessed!