I was recently asked for a service for the installation of pastor for Pentecostal churches. After some research, I discovered that there are ordination services, but I could not find a service for pastoral installation. So, I have prepared one. Please feel free to use at your discretion.
The Presentation
The Bishop (or officiant) will present the pastor-designant before the congregation at the altar, and declare:
The Church has discerned the call of this person into the pastoral ministry, and with your consent, together we present and charge this person to serve as pastor of this local congregation.
The officiant will then anoint with oil the pastor-designant and invite congregational leaders to lay on hands and pray for the pastor-designate. Petitions shall include that the pastor be graced with the mind of Christ (humility and wisdom); the anointing, fruit, and gifts of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11); diligence for the Word of God (1 Timothy 2:15); and integrity of heart.
Following the prayer the officiant will ask the pastor-designant to face the congregation and read the following:
The Minister’s Charge
Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves… Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 10:16; 28:19).
Be eager to preach the gospel. Do not be ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:15-16). Preach in demonstration of the Spirit and of power (1 Corinthians 2:4). Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction (2 Timothy 4:2). And as you go, preach, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give (Matthew 10:7-8).
Go out “…into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame… Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that God’s house may be filled” (Luke 14:21-23). Feed the hungry and thirsty; Invite the stranger; Clothe the naked; Visit the prisoner (Matthew 25:42-43). Visit orphans and widows in their distress; …keep yourself unstained by the world (James 1:27).
If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them (John 20:23). Restore those who are “caught in any trespass… in a spirit of gentleness…” (Galatians 6:1).
Be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine (1 Timothy 4:6). Be strengthened with power through His Spirit …know the love of Christ …be filled up to all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19).
Endure to the end (Matthew 24:13). Fight the good fight, finish the course, keep the faith; in the future there is laid up for you the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to you on that day; and not only to you, but also to all who have loved His appearing (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
Finally, …rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; … The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all (2 Corinthians 13:11-14).
The officiant will then charge the congregation:
The Congregation’s Charge
The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching (1 Timothy 5:17 NIV).
Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. . . Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you (Hebrews 13:7, 15-17 NIV).
and/or
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work (Ephesians 4:11-16 NIV).
Footwashing
Just as Jesus prepared his disciples to engage the Great Commission by washing their feet (John 13), the officiant, or a congregational leader, will wash the feet of the pastor-designate and declare:
“Beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Gospel!” (Romans 10:15).
Afterwards, the pastor-designate will wash the feet of representatives from the congregation as a sign of pastoral service.
The Benediction
Psalm 1:1-3 NIV (or other appropriate Scripture)
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN.
