PASTORAL SUGGESTIONS FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT’S BLESSINGS
Dr. Paul Fedena
HOLY SPIRIT BLESSINGS FOR YOUR MINISTRY
After over 50+ years in the preaching ministry, most of those as a pastor of God blessed churches* which experienced numerical and spiritual growth, I believe the Lord has lain on my heart to pass on some hoary-haired and random tips which I believe God used in my ministry. – Pastor (emeritus) Paul C. Fedena
1. Once God has laid on your heart the Scripture passage He wants you to preach, live daily in that passage. Think about it, pray about it, meditate on it, read it again and again and think about it before you retire for the night.
2. As you develop the outline, assemble your thoughts and write out in a single sentence the theme or truth you wish to convey. If this is not crystal clear to you, then it will be difficult for your hearers to follow.
3. All the main points of your message should be supported by your sub points. (Sub point + sub point = main point) Then all your points should add up to your thesis or theme and at that point you should decide on an appropriate title, if one has not already occurred to you. Try to have at least one clear illustration to support each main point. Be careful of repetition here. Also give close attention to your conclusion and invitation, leaving room for the Holy Spirit, of course.
4. The title should help express what you are attempting to convey, usually in no more than four words.
5. I found it best to put the most effort on my Sunday evening and Wednesday evening messages. These were usually expository or textual messages, and often, verse-by-verse Bible book studies. Using this method you will be able to cover all the doctrines of Scripture over a period of time. “Preach the word…” (NOT about the Word). I generally used this method in Sunday School for the adults as well, but preached primarily topical messages in the AM services.
6. This, more than anything else built the Sunday night and Wednesday night attendance. I always considered those services as a reflection of the strength and success of my ministry. God has always blessed those services with a large (about 85%) percentage of the AM service attendance (not counting bus kids – just teens and adults).
7. I tried to take Monday as an off day and spend it with my wife and family so I could start out the week fresh.
8. Tuesday was office and hospital and home visiting day, and the beginning of my prayer for sermon subjects or passages. I usually had my Wednesday night lesson or sermon in outline form by Tuesday and began to crystalize my thinking. Some soul-winning and/or follow up on new converts sometimes took place on Tuesday night.
9. On Wednesday morning I would be pretty well finished with that message. Then I would add illustrations, visuals, etc.
10. Thursday began my study for Sunday night, following the above prescription. Thursday night was devoted to soul-winning.
11. Friday morning I would finish up my Sunday PM message and work on the Sunday morning message. I would complete both, usually by 2pm. I would then give the message titles to my secretary for the Sunday bulletin. Possible hospital visits on Friday afternoon. Friday night was usually family night, except for a monthly deacons meeting.
12. Saturday morning was set aside for a bus workers meeting followed by bus canvassing and soul-winning. Saturday afternoon or evening I would prepare my Sunday School lesson for my adult class. (The reason for waiting till Sat. was that was normally the time my S.S. teachers would be preparing their lessons.)
13. Of course every day began with personal devotions. Sometimes I would read one of Spurgeon’s or some other noted preacher’s sermon as a starting point.
14. When my children were in the home we would have family devotions after the evening meal. As they became old enough I would have each child suggest prayer requests and have them pray for their requests. For several years we used the children’s devotional book “The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes”. We would first read the Bible passage suggested. Next we would read the story in the book. Then ask the questions in the book about the passage. We would take turns praying. This would usually run about ½ hour.
15. Sunday morning began early with prayer, review of notes for S.S. school and AM sermon. Then I would go to the fellowship area and meet with my bus workers for fellowship over coffee and bagels or donuts before they left on their bus routes. When they were gone I would pray for them and again review my notes.
16. At the end of my AM message I would give an invitation and almost every week we had someone saved. We would have those from Primary and Jr. church prepared to come forward along with any teens and adults who wanted to get saved.
17. Usually I would have a meeting with some church members after the AM and especially the PM service for counselling or to interview prospective members along with my deacons, or if I was tied up they would meet with these folks.
18. Sundays were long, but God-blessed days, and after the service I just wanted to relax and go home. Sometimes my wife and I would be invited to a member’s home or restaurant for fellowship and refreshments.
19. Monday morning the week would begin again.
20. I tried to follow the above schedule rigidly. Two words guided me in the ministry: discipline and devotion.
After over 50+ years in the preaching ministry, most of those as a pastor of God blessed churches* which experienced numerical and spiritual growth, I believe the Lord has lain on my heart to pass on some hoary-haired and random tips which I believe God used in my ministry. – Pastor (emeritus) Paul C. Fedena
1. Once God has laid on your heart the Scripture passage He wants you to preach, live daily in that passage. Think about it, pray about it, meditate on it, read it again and again and think about it before you retire for the night.
2. As you develop the outline, assemble your thoughts and write out in a single sentence the theme or truth you wish to convey. If this is not crystal clear to you, then it will be difficult for your hearers to follow.
3. All the main points of your message should be supported by your sub points. (Sub point + sub point = main point) Then all your points should add up to your thesis or theme and at that point you should decide on an appropriate title, if one has not already occurred to you. Try to have at least one clear illustration to support each main point. Be careful of repetition here. Also give close attention to your conclusion and invitation, leaving room for the Holy Spirit, of course.
4. The title should help express what you are attempting to convey, usually in no more than four words.
5. I found it best to put the most effort on my Sunday evening and Wednesday evening messages. These were usually expository or textual messages, and often, verse-by-verse Bible book studies. Using this method you will be able to cover all the doctrines of Scripture over a period of time. “Preach the word…” (NOT about the Word). I generally used this method in Sunday School for the adults as well, but preached primarily topical messages in the AM services.
6. This, more than anything else built the Sunday night and Wednesday night attendance. I always considered those services as a reflection of the strength and success of my ministry. God has always blessed those services with a large (about 85%) percentage of the AM service attendance (not counting bus kids – just teens and adults).
7. I tried to take Monday as an off day and spend it with my wife and family so I could start out the week fresh.
8. Tuesday was office and hospital and home visiting day, and the beginning of my prayer for sermon subjects or passages. I usually had my Wednesday night lesson or sermon in outline form by Tuesday and began to crystalize my thinking. Some soul-winning and/or follow up on new converts sometimes took place on Tuesday night.
9. On Wednesday morning I would be pretty well finished with that message. Then I would add illustrations, visuals, etc.
10. Thursday began my study for Sunday night, following the above prescription. Thursday night was devoted to soul-winning.
11. Friday morning I would finish up my Sunday PM message and work on the Sunday morning message. I would complete both, usually by 2pm. I would then give the message titles to my secretary for the Sunday bulletin. Possible hospital visits on Friday afternoon. Friday night was usually family night, except for a monthly deacons meeting.
12. Saturday morning was set aside for a bus workers meeting followed by bus canvassing and soul-winning. Saturday afternoon or evening I would prepare my Sunday School lesson for my adult class. (The reason for waiting till Sat. was that was normally the time my S.S. teachers would be preparing their lessons.)
13. Of course every day began with personal devotions. Sometimes I would read one of Spurgeon’s or some other noted preacher’s sermon as a starting point.
14. When my children were in the home we would have family devotions after the evening meal. As they became old enough I would have each child suggest prayer requests and have them pray for their requests. For several years we used the children’s devotional book “The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes”. We would first read the Bible passage suggested. Next we would read the story in the book. Then ask the questions in the book about the passage. We would take turns praying. This would usually run about ½ hour.
15. Sunday morning began early with prayer, review of notes for S.S. school and AM sermon. Then I would go to the fellowship area and meet with my bus workers for fellowship over coffee and bagels or donuts before they left on their bus routes. When they were gone I would pray for them and again review my notes.
16. At the end of my AM message I would give an invitation and almost every week we had someone saved. We would have those from Primary and Jr. church prepared to come forward along with any teens and adults who wanted to get saved.
17. Usually I would have a meeting with some church members after the AM and especially the PM service for counselling or to interview prospective members along with my deacons, or if I was tied up they would meet with these folks.
18. Sundays were long, but God-blessed days, and after the service I just wanted to relax and go home. Sometimes my wife and I would be invited to a member’s home or restaurant for fellowship and refreshments.
19. Monday morning the week would begin again.
20. I tried to follow the above schedule rigidly. Two words guided me in the ministry: discipline and devotion.
- My first pastorate was while I was still in college (Baptist Bible Seminary in Johnson City, N.Y.). It was a tiny Community Church in the hills of upstate N.Y. It was very, very rural, but God wonderfully blessed this ministry and it grew to packed services every Sunday. It became a Baptist Church within one year after I preached a series of messages on Baptist Distinctives. It was a part time ministry. My wife, baby and I would travel the 50+ miles on Saturdays for visitation and stay overnight in a member’s home, then preach all day Sunday and drive back to college on Sunday nights.
- My first full time ministry was in DeRuyter, N.Y. and once again God blessed this small rural church with numerical and spiritual growth in the 2 years I pastored there.
- Next I moved south (AMEN!), below the Mason-Dixon Line to Glen Burnie, Md and became the pastor of a church that had just experienced a major church split. In spite of that we started a soul-winning emphasis and ran 2 buses (their first time), and God began to bless. This church mushroomed and we had to expand the auditorium and started a Christian School. I pastored there for 7 great years. My wife and I still have good friends there.
- From there God led us to Faith Baptist Church in Fairless Hills, PA. The building was small and so was the congregation (42 people the first Sunday with one adult being saved!). The previous pastor was a Calvinist and no one had walked the aisle for 7 years – for any reason! We started a bus ministry, a soul-winning program and experienced explosive growth. Within a year we began a building program to accommodate the crowds. The new building seated over 600 people and we averaged between 600 and 800 each Lord’s Day with a high day of 1232 during the 31 years the Lord allowed me to pastor there. We sadly, experienced 2 church splits which reduced our attendance to about 500-600 on Sunday mornings with 9 bus routes. The PM and Wed. night attendance averaged 300-350. We began a deaf ministry and a ministry to handicapped (mental & physical) people. We also helped start 3 churches.