Pastoral Mentoring: For the Care of Souls

by Jared C. Wilson

A Better Way to Choose and Train Your Next Pastor
· Offers a new perspective on the qualifications for ministry
· Practical help to identify a potential future pastor within the church
· Advice for mentoring and training

In too many church cultures, potential pastors are identified primarily by their intelligence, giftedness, or willingness. Instead, Jared C. Wilson sees the Bible emphasizing the character, spiritual maturity, and Christlikeness of congregational leaders. These characteristics are best discerned and cultivated in the context of a local church. In Pastoral For the Care of Souls, Wilson argues that, while formal theological education plays an important role, the local church is uniquely equipped to train its shepherds. This book empowers pastors and church leaders to identify and mentor future ministers right where they are.

208 pages, Hardcover

Published July 21, 2026

About the author

Jared C. Wilson is the Director of Content Strategy for Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Managing Editor of For The Church (ftc.co), and Director of the Pastoral Training Center at Liberty Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri. He is the author of numerous books, including "Gospel Wakefulness," "The Prodigal Church," and, most recently, "The Imperfect Disciple." Wilson blogs regularly at gospeldrivenchurch.com, hosted by The Gospel Coalition and is a frequent speaker at conferences and churches around the world.

Reviews

[Samuel Kassing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gold. Absolute pastoral gold.

[Benjamin Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a recent resident in Jared’s PTC, this is a sweet and unique look behind the curtain of the hard work he and the other elders of Liberty Baptist Church put into aspiring men. Those other elders have sat under Jared’s discipling for years, he’s trained most of the elders I’ve sat under in my five years as a member. In turn, not only has Jared mentored me, his mentees have mentored me, and their mentees have as well. I don’t say this to boast on Jared (he knows I love him and he’s the first pastor I can say I know he loves me as well), but to point to the role of pastoral mentoring in the local church. When you invest in men who aspire to pastoral ministry, you’re also investing in your local church, in other congregations they may move to one day, in the community that you send and they plant in (locally and globally), and ultimately, you are serving Christ and His bride. You don’t have to leave it to the PhD in Systematics to raise up future elders, it might be their job in their church, but it’s your job (elder) in your local church.

[Timothy Koch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jared comes from a Baptists background and I come from a Lutheran one. We have completely different congregational and synodical polities, but the idea that you would mentor and shape young men to be more Christlike (whether that leads to them serving in the church professionally or not) is wonderful.

I would contend that one of my greatest weaknesses as a pastor is my inability to develop LOCAL leadership (I mentor students assigned to me with regularity).

Wilson has a lot of wisdom about what qualities and traits the church needs in a pastor, and he identifies many potential pitfalls and temptations.

As our own church body carries on heated debates about pastoral formation (and I have a few hot takes on these issue myself, as well as an axe or two to grind) I was particularly drawn to Wilson's comment on page 40, "What I have learned from experience is not only to invite fewer residents into the program at a time, BUT TO DO A MORE THOROUGH JOB AT THE OUTSET OF GUAGING THEIR READINESS FOR TRAINING and eventual sending."

Amen! Amen!

Scripture has far more to say about the pastoral material you START with than it does about the PROCESS by which pastors are formed. For all the boasting that residential seminaries are the "gold standard" of education (a silly claim since the gold standard was a bad idea), the truth remains that seminaries are not Rumplestiltskin: they cannot turn straw into gold.

Wilson's emphasis that the ministry is not an entitlement to those who secure the academic credentials but a "privilege" cannot be overemphasized.

This book is short, to the point, well written, and extols the Christ-like nature of the pastoral office. It is rooted in true and timeless things, rather than ONLY giving steps and action-plans and programs to follow—though a judicial amount of that hands-on practical advise is sprinkled throughout the book as well.

My greatest compliment of this book is its appropriate emphasis on humility. That is a characteristic I want to see in all pastors, and it is something I constantly—and in great weakness—strive to have in myself.

[Nate Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tried to review this yesterday, but apparently when you pre-order, you may receive the book prior to publication. That is my plug to preorder.

A development in pastoral ministry is the outsourcing of training and education to institutions separate from the church. Wilson acknowledges this departure and provides an exhortation to current and experienced pastors to restore the role of developing future ministers. This is not done to remove institutions like seminaries, but to place the onus back on the local church to reestablish her role of experiential and spiritual formation, particularly of a vital office of the church.

This book is not another curriculum nor does it provide the answers to how the establish such a task, but rather, encourages, advises, and presents the benefits of the task. Are you going to be able to begin pastoral mentorship today (I read this book in a day)? Probably not. But you'll be presented questions and concepts to mull on in order to take that first step.

Short book. Highly enjoyable and encouraging. If you're at a point with zero mentorship or knowledge of it, this is a good first step

[Cole Feix · Rating 5 out of 5]

What if the pastoral burnout problem is a formation problem? I firmly believe in the importance of pastoral education, but seminary and academic training are just one factor. The goal is to train young ministers for godliness. You won’t find a better short guide to mentoring, training, and pastoral residencies than Jared Wilson’s new book. It’s theological, practical, and offers a wide list of resources for pastoral mentoring. It’s a welcome addition to this great Care of Souls series and a helpful encouragement to make character the central focus of the next generation of pastors.

[Luke Watts · Rating 5 out of 5]

While not quite what was expected, this title delivered a refreshing approach to pastoral leadership! Wilson backs up his theses with solid Scriptural underpinning and on-the-ground examples and proof. This title (and the connected title by Senkbeil) should be required reading for any aspiring to and entering the pastoral and eldership of any church. Wilson correctly points out that robust theological training is essential, but far more vital is the mentoring and discipleship of young and new leaders. It is well written, with a good heart, and refreshing voice.

[Kyle Huber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the cream that rise to the top of books on Pastoral Ministry.
Ch 2 emphasizes church based mentoring.
Ch 3 reviews discerning ministry readiness, and ch 4 is on how to prepare men for ministry.
Ch 5 on character is convicting and has lots of excellent self-diagnostic questions. Ch 6 follows up with the disposition of a pastor: kindness, humility and relationality which requires understanding the people dynamics of the congregation.
Ch 8 brings the vital reminder that shepherds need shepherding.
Ch 9 ends with a warning against self-reliance in our ministry experience.

[Adam Kareus · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written book pointing to a great need in our churches, for pastors to mentor the next generation and raise up leaders for the church. This is a task that the church can do, with the help of formal education of course, but also on their own as they Educate, mentor, and train future pastors. All pastors should be looking for those who have the drive and characteristics of a pastor.

[Dillan McDowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took my time with this one. Read chapters 1-4 slowly. Finished a couple more books and came back and read chapters 5 through the end in an evening. What Jared C Wilson continues to do is provide a window into the life of the pastor. What a beautiful view he portrays here. A must read.

[DP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid and enriching. Not a how-to-structure your program as much as it is a blueprint and rallying cry for making soul formation and gospel rhythms the heart of it.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

9Marks review coming