The New Pastor Field Manual

Advanced Pastoral Training

Welcome

We are glad you are here and hope that our approach will bless you. As you poke around, let’s us know when questions arise. We are happy to answer them.

Our Approach

We use two models as frameworks to train new pastors.

The Shepherd Model focuses on the tasks of the pastor. A pastor is a shepherd who leads, nourishes, and tends to the flock entrusted to him.

The Pastor Model focuses on the personal development of the pastor. Becoming an effective pastor requires the ongoing quest to build character, acquire knowledge, and develop skill.

We have inserted processes and tools inside this framework to create a robust training manual for new pastors. Doctrinal level research and 25 years of practice back the processes and tools you will use. We routinely update them as we learn from new pastors.

Bottom line: We have taken the guesswork out of how to become a well-rounded pastor who can lead a healthy church. If you are willing to play Simon Says, you will dramatically increase your odds of creating a healthy church.

Sample of the training topics

Meet The Creators

Rev. Dr. Ken Priddy, PhD and DMin, the Founder and Executive Director of The GO Center. He spent tens of thousands of hours in research and practice developing these over the last 25 years. Hundreds of churches in 15 denominations across six countries have benefited from these. So have his students in eight seminaries where he has taught over the years.
Rev. Shane Sunn and Rev. David Zook also contributed to parts of this curriculum.
Meet David our Lead for Pastoral Search

David played both leading and supporting roles in planting four churches in his 22 years of ministry. Three of the four plants launched are still producing fruit. The youngest is 10 years old while the oldest is over 20. He has also been a board member of a church planting network. His experience as a practitioner has been invaluable in the design and implementation of the curriculum.

THE INGREDIENTS OF A HIGH-IMPACT PASTOR

There are three as outlined below. We focus on developing or honing each of them through guided processes, discussions, and assignments. We will appropriately challenge you while deeply supporting you so that you can be your best when your best is required.