Teaching Other Faithful Men

by Hugh DeLong

Having preached now for over 50 years, one of my favorite instructions on preaching is II Timothy 2:2: “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

I think this may have been the most productive aspect of my work, as it has allowed ‘my work’ to spread far beyond what I could ever do on my own. Years ago, brother Pete Wilson told me that after years of working in England, and then back in the USA, when he began implementing this verse as one of the main aspects of his preaching, the amount of evangelism and teaching that then got done was far greater than all those years of his personal work of teaching. When he began doing this, the men he trained could all be teaching, almost every day, and that was around 10 men.

Of course, Pete has died, and I am afraid that I am ‘next’ in line. But these men I worked with have been at it for many years and, in turn, have taught and worked with yet other men. This ‘one-on-one’ work has proven effective. God knew what He was doing when He gave this instruction.

The caveat, if there is one, is what one passes on to these other faithful men! It has to be what God revealed through Paul and the other apostles and prophets. Such is timeless and universal. Such is the power of God to create faith in others. Such is a great and enduring part of a preacher's work.

Here we are, 2000+ years later, in a faraway land, speaking a then-unknown language, yet the same message is being propagated. May God bless all those involved in such work.