The Trellis and the Vine

by Colin Marshall

Evangelism is at the heart of pastoral ministry. Ministry is not about just dealing with immediate crises or problems, or about building numbers, or about reforming structures. It is fundamentally about preparing souls for death. • Ministers need not be tied to traditional structures but should use whatever ‘means’ (Baxter’s term) available to call people to repentance and salvation. For Baxter, this meant not being tied to the pulpit, but also going into people’s houses to instruct and exhort them. • We should focus not only on what we are teaching, but also on what the people are learning and applying. • In many respects, in our era of widespread education, there is even more scope to implement Baxter’s vision of personal catechizing. In many parts of the world, there is now a highly-educated laity who can not only learn well, but also very ably teach others. The personal house-to-house discipling can be done not only by the pastor, but also by the disciple-makers that the pastor trains.