For the past 13 years I’ve been armor bearer and personal assistant to my pastor. Over the years I’ve received lots of questions about what I do and how I do it. This post is for everyone who thinks they have either been called to this ministry or just want to be in this ministry. If you aspire to be an armor bearer or ministry assistant, read through each category below and give some serious thought to what is shared.
This ministry is not for everyone. I have a friend with whom I work very closely in ministry; we are both on staff at our church. She and I have many of the same gifts and skills so I asked her to stand in as an armor bearer for a guest minister one day when we were short handed. By the time we left the church it was after midnight. She looked at me and said, “I don’t know how you do this but it’s not for me.”
This articles is based strictly on my personal experience. Every ministry is different and has its own preferences and expectations.
What’s Your Motive?
Why Do You Want To Be An Armor Bearer? If you seek or accept a ministry position with the wrong motives you probably won’t last long. You may become frustrated or burnout quickly. There is a reason God gave us spiritual gifts and talents to equip us for ministry.
An armor bearer or personal assistant to a senior pastor should have a strong desire to assist the pastor, ministry leaders, and ministry guests. This desire is not to be close to the pastor or others in ministry. It is not a desire to see or be seen; to know or be known. An armor bearer or personal assistant wants to help make ministry easier and less stressful for the people they serve. They want to help their ministry leader focus on ministry and prayer rather than the minutiae associated with ministry.
Friendly But Not Familiar
Armor bearers and personal assistants are called to serve. We are not called to be the pastor’s or ministry leaders’ friend. By all means, we should be friendly and helpful. We should be eager to serve in a pleasant manner with an approachable attitude. However, we must recognize the thin line between friendly and familiar. It is not our job to engage in conversations of a personal nature or try to be buddies with those we serve.
Anticipate Needs
One of the most valuable skills an armor bearer can have is the ability to anticipate. To anticipate the needs of others, we must be observant and alert. Once we begin to serve, we learn our leaders needs. If the person we serve tends to sweat a lot, we should always have a towel or handkerchief for them. If they usually don’t have a pen, keep pens on hand. We can also anticipate needs based on body language and non-verbal signals.
Everything we can think of before it’s needed helps our leaders focus on ministering.
Learn To Be Invisible
When serving, it’s not about us. It’s about ministering to the needs of others without becoming the center of attention. We should not draw attention to ourselves. If you like attention and tend to be the life of the party, this is not the job for you. This is something I took to heart, so much so that when I traveled with my pastor I always wore black, gray or brown so I would not stand out.
If we serve with excellence, we will be noticed for our service.
Understanding Confidentiality
No gossipers allowed. Serving pastors and ministry leaders sometimes allows armor bearers to be privy to private conversations. This doesn’t mean that you will be privy to your pastor’s deep, dark secrets. But it does mean there will be conversations that aren’t meant to be repeated. When we overhear discussions between our ministry leaders and/or guests those conversations should be treated as confidential.
On occasion, we will be privy to confidential conversations. We don’t discuss them; not even with our spouse.
Don’t Be Like Gehazi
Gehazi served as Elisha’s ministry assistant. He served with honor and distinction for many years until he used Elisha’s name for dishonest gain. Don’t use your association with your pastor or other ministry leaders for selfish gain.
Family and Time Management
If armor bearing or personal assistant is your calling, it will become a priority in your life. If you are married and have children living at home you must find balance. Your spouse and children should not feel like they have to compete for your time and attention.
Follow-Up
In a few days I will follow-up this article with one that addresses armor bearer selection and training and full time assistants.
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Tags: armor bearer, armorbearer, ministry assistants, pastors personal assistant, serving ministry leaders
October 25th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
This is a great resource. I worked as a personal assistant to a pastoral team and can identify with a number of things you mentioned in this article. This is an overlooked profession, but the uniqueness of it is that it is a calling. You just can’t do this…
Be victorious,
Cheryl A. Pullins
Executive Director
Victorious Living for Women
October 25th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Great POST! So true…
October 26th, 2009 at 7:11 am
@ Niko – Hi Niko, glad you stopped by. You and I have both served in this capacity for different pastors and worked together on occasion. It’s good to have your stamp of approval.
@ Cheryl – Thanks for your comments. You are correct, this is a calling. There are many who think this is a simple, glamorous job but that is how it seems to the casual observer.
October 26th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
Thanks Mrs. Valerie for all that you do in your walk and you are truly walking in one of your many gifts. This article is very helpful.
December 2nd, 2009 at 10:59 pm
I was searching the web for some examples of female armor bearers and ran across this post. I have been called to be an assistant/armor bearer for my Pastors and was wondering if you had any advice since they are good friends of mine. I see you said that an assistant or armor bearer should not be friends because of the familiarity issue. I understand that to be a real issue and have encountered crossing the line a few times. We have worked though and are able to function, but at this point the church is small and we can over look somethings. My concern is as the ministry grows, will have have to choose between the friend and the calling? Any advice?
December 6th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Shannon, the task you describe can be quite difficult if there is no distinction between friendship and service. Give me a few days. I’m going to write a post to address this specific issue.
Thanks for asking.
December 21st, 2009 at 11:04 am
I have a friend that has been asked to be the armour bearer for the first lady of her church, she wanted to know is there another name for the female armour bearer and or are the duties still the same as a person that is a male armour bearer. Feel free to elaborate- she just wants a lot of info on what was asked of her. I know that she would be good at this task, but needs some specifics from you.
December 22nd, 2009 at 7:13 am
Hi David, male and female armor bearers usually have the same title. Some churches use an entirely different title for armor bearers.
For the most part, the duties should be the similar; however, the first lady should set her specific expectations. It’s never good to step into a role under an assumption. Your friend should sit down with the first lady and discuss her role and expectations.
Next month I will conduct a training session at my church for our armor bearers. I’ve trained the men before but our pastor has only been married for two years and his wife recently asked several women to serve as her armor bearer. Before I conduct the training, I will sit down with our pastor’s wife to find out what she expects of her armor bearers.
Good looking out for your friend, I wish her well.
January 5th, 2010 at 8:18 pm
Enjoyed the article. Can you advise if you do training on this subject for church assemblies?
Thank You
January 6th, 2010 at 4:11 pm
Yes, I have done training on this topic. You can reach me through the Contact form, I’ll be glad to discuss with you.
January 7th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
Does anyone have a list of questions they have asked their pastor before becoming and Armour bearer?
I have the routine questions:
What is the pastors schedule?
Who keeps it up?
What concerns the pastor most before a service?
What does the pastor require before, during and after service?
Does the pastor have any special needs?
What does the pastor frequently run out of that’s important to keep on hand?
Will I be required to travel with the pastor when visiting other churches?
What is the pastors mission statement for his/her staff?
What distracts the pastor during service?
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
January 8th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
Ms Robinson, all of these questions are subjective. The answers depend on your pastor’s needs and wants.
In my case, I was the pastor’s full time personal assistant which meant that I kept his schedule and traveled with him when he preached – both in town and out of town. I also interacted with our armor bearers who were part of the ministry but not on staff (either full time or part time).
At our church, we have a team of armor bearers who are scheduled to work on specific Sundays and on Bible Study night. When pastor has a local speaking engagement I contact the armor bearer leader who will assign someone to accompany pastor to his speaking engagement. Since I began taking care of my god-sister who has dementia and physical disabilities, I’m no longer able to travel with my pastor to speaking engagements but we have a team of very capable armor bearers.
Concerning distractions, requirements before, during and after service and supplies to keep on hand – those things are different for different pastors.
Hopefully your ministry has training sessions for armor bearers and other ministry leaders. Those training sessions will help a lot.
January 21st, 2010 at 4:39 pm
I have been asked to become a Amor Bearer and I accepted. This is a church that is just starting out and has yet to have its 1st service (God willing, our 1st service will be in march). The task before me is enormous, I was in the military for 22 years so the personal security part I have down. However there is so much more involved. Long before I even met the Pastor I was struggling with finding a church home and how I could serve God and help a churh. Really all I can bring to the table is my security training, organization skills and my life experience. Money is tight we are just starting out with a new church so I am trying to find whatever I can get a hold of for training. Any information you may have, or low cost resourses you are aware of would be helpfull. Thank you for posting this site, and God Bless you. Respectfully, Santos
January 21st, 2010 at 5:25 pm
Santos, you are probably more prepared for this role than you realize. Since you are military, think of the role of an armor bearer as an adjutant. In fact, some churches call their armor bearers adjutants. It is essentially the same, except one of your weapons is prayer.
There are two other posts on this blog: So You Want to Be An Armor Bearer Part 2 and Friends Serving Friends In Ministry that may also be helpful to you.
Two books that I recommend are: God’s Armor Bearer by Terry Nance (a link is in my sidebar) and Improving Your Serve by Chuck Swindoll.
I think you will do well.