This summary was taken from the preface of the book.

Pastors are very busy people. They visit people in hospitals; they counsel those who are troubled; they have staff meetings with other church leaders; they answer many emails and text messages; they attend seminars, classes, and conventions; they read books; they review financial reports; they officiate weddings, funerals, and baby dedications. Pastors do many different things every day, every week, every month, and every year.

What ministry tasks should take priority? Is there anything that is of greatest importance? What should be done first? Should he give most of his attention to just a few things? Is it even possible to narrow his many responsibilities to two or three things? Does the Bible highlight any priorities for local church pastors?

Of all the critical things that a pastor should devote his time to I believe that there are three essentials. I believe that if a pastor does not give most of his time to these three ministry tasks, he is failing in his calling.

There are three priorities for local church pastors. They are prayer, the ministry of the Word, and raising up leaders. He must give himself “continually” to these three awesome responsibilities.

In this book, I will give biblical understanding and practical instruction on how to do these three priorities effectively. Yes, we should pray, but what are we praying about? Yes, we should be teaching and preaching the Word of God all the time, but what is the most effective way? Yes, we must be raising up leaders, but what’s the best way to do that? Many pastors ignore this last priority, and it’s impossible to do the first two without it.

I believe that the life and ministry of a local church pastor should flow out of these three ministry tasks. Nothing can be more important. May the Holy Spirit of God give you wisdom and understanding as you read the Word of God, pray, and read this book. Thank you for taking time to listen to his book.