A minister was once speaking to some students for the ministry about the responsibilities of their high calling. One of his comments was especially sobering. The exact words were forgotten, but they left an unforgettable impression. They were along these lines: “One part of your work will be to prove why the gospel ministry is still necessary”. In other words, they would live in an age when many people, though convinced of the truth of Christianity, would act as if the ministry was no longer necessary. They might acknowledge that a local ministry is a blessing, but something they can do without. Their actions would show that they valued other things more highly than being under a ministry.
His observation, sadly, has been repeatedly confirmed. Never has the Word of God been so easily accessible. Never before could people so easily obtain such an abundance of sound literature, lectures and sermons. Anyone living in the West, with internet access, can enjoy all these resources. Clearly, no generation has had such an abundance of spiritual riches. Yet quite possibly, no generation has ever been so tempted to think that being under a ministry is now unnecessary.
Tragically, the unprecedented abundance of sound resources has been accompanied with an alarming scarcity of faithful ministers. Pastorless congregations are all too common in our own Church. It is therefore a time to be much on our knees, pleading that the Lord of the harvest would send forth labourers into His harvest (Mt 9:38).
We must ask, however: When did the Lord command His disciples to pray for more labourers? It was “when He saw the multitudes” (Mt 9:36). Why were people gathering in such large numbers? Because they had no Bible? No. “Unto them were committed the oracles of God” (Rom 3:2). Was it because they had been deprived of a place of public worship for so long? No, they had been worshipping in local synagogues for hundreds of years. Why then were they gathering in such large numbers? Because they desired to hear the live preaching of the Word.
Then we must ask a second question. Where were they gathering to hear the preaching of the Word? Was it only when Christ and others preached very close to their homes, so they could attend with ease? Was it only in places where the living conditions were very pleasant? No, we find that multitudes went into the wilderness to hear John the Baptist and the Lord
Jesus (Mk 1:3-5, Mk 1:45).
David Dickson, commenting on Matthew 9:37, says, “People made willing to hear the gospel are like a field ready to be cut down. . . . Sometimes the people are more in number and more willing to hear than there are able and willing ministers to teach.” A sign of a great harvest, therefore, is when people desire so strongly to hear the preaching of the Word that they will make many sacrifices and endure many inconveniences to be under it regularly.
The point is not that we should only pray for more labourers when we see more people attending our congregations. We must always pray for more labourers. But prayer should always be accompanied with self-examination. We may be praying for more ministers, but do we value the ones that we have? Suppose we are thinking about leaving a congregation that has a minister and moving to a place that has no gospel ministry. We must ask ourselves, What are our motives for doing so? Is it mainly because of a better-paying job and better schools and universities? Or is it because we will be closer to family and friends, and because the new location is a more pleasant place to live?
In a word, are we valuing the things of this world more than the preaching of the Word – “the principal means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort, through faith, unto salvation?” (Shorter Catechism, Q 89). Being near family and like-minded friends is a great blessing, but has God chosen family and friends to be the principal means of our salvation? (See Rom 10:13-17). More to the point: can we expect the Lord to send us a minister in our new location, when we have left a ministry because of the inconveniences of living in the old one?
This is not to say that it is always wrong to leave a place that has a sound ministry and go to a place that has no ministry. In Acts 8:1, we read of many disciples fleeing from persecution in Jerusalem, where the Apostles remained. They therefore left the richly blessed ministry of Peter and others. Yet Scripture speaks favourably of them in verse 4: “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the Word”. Other factors in our providence may also constrain us to leave a ministry and go to a pastorless congregation, such as caring for aged parents.
Nor should we think that people must move to another place when their congregation becomes pastorless. It may well be their duty to remain and pray that the Lord would send them another minister. Elders especially may feel inclined to remain and serve the flock. The main thing is to have a clear conscience that our motives, desires and actions show that we rightly value
a ministry. Then we can pray with more boldness that the Lord would send forth labourers into His harvest.
Another temptation may prey upon the minds of gospel hearers from time to time: “Why should I remain here in this place under the ministry, when I am getting little or no blessing under it?”
Two answers come to mind. First, we must examine ourselves as to whether we are attending upon the Word with diligence, preparation and prayer. Do we pray before, during and after hearing the Word? Do we make an effort to understand it and apply it to ourselves? Is the seed of the Word finding good ground, or is it being choked with the cares of this life, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in?
Second, even if the Holy Spirit works effectually through the ministry only on rare occasions, those times are infinitely precious! If the Spirit should accompany the preaching of the gospel only once, the saved sinner will be blessing God to all eternity that he was brought under such a ministry. The man at the pool of Bethesda remained there for 38 years, in hopes of obtaining a cure (Jn 5:5). Surely we should have the same persistence in seeking a cure for our souls, by diligently attending upon the preaching of the Word.
Ministers may feel reluctant to emphasise the necessity of the gospel ministry, because they may appear as if they are asserting their own importance. But a solemn prospect forbids them to be silent. Christ not only knows all things (Jn 21:17), He also knows all things that could have happened. He says that if the same mighty works which He had done in Chorazin and Bethsaida “had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes” (Mt 11:21-23). Therefore He also knows who would have repented if they had been under a gospel ministry. In light of this fact, let us seriously consider a final question: on the judgement day, will we discover that if we had remained under a faithful ministry, we would have repented and obtained eternal life? Or if we are parents, will we find out that our children would have repented, had we kept them under a sound ministry?
We conclude with a quotation from Scripture, leaving the reader to connect it to what has been written: “Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: and I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding” (Jer 3:13,14).
– From the January 2026 Free Presbyterian Magazine