Pastoral Mentoring: For the Care of Souls

by Jared C. Wilson

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.

[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.

[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.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

9Marks review coming