Ministry is hard. Much, much harder than I imagined when I left the IT profession in 2006. Like anyone starting a new career in ministry, I had all kinds of ideas, expectations, and hopes for a smooth, bright future of helping people find and follow Jesus. During my tenure, I witnessed a church split, which led to such a significant loss in attendance that our lender decided not to renew our mortgage. These events led to the Lead Pastor’s resignation, which started a pastoral search, which led to hiring someone who wasn’t the best fit for our church, which led to bringing in a consultant, which led to hiring our current Lead Pastor. If reading that makes your head spin, try living it. On top of the leadership changes and challenges, operational issues required attention, such as finding a new lender for the facility, reductions in the workforce, and wage stagnation due to reduced budgets. Did I mention that our church continued to pursue its mission throughout all of these transitions? And people heard the Gospel, put their faith in Christ, were baptized, got married, mourned the loss of loved ones, found community, and supported the church through giving and serving.
Go Beyond Survival
The truth is, I was not prepared for any of it. The fact that I’ve made it this long makes me a unicorn in the church world since most pastors only make it 4 to 5 years. If you are new to ministry and want to make it for the long haul, here are a few lessons I learned along the way that may help:
Mission and Vision: Methods, or how a church does something, will change. Look how quickly most churches needed to pivot from on-campus-only services to a Livestream almost overnight. The method for providing a church service for the congregation changed, but the mission remained the same. The mission is the reason an organization, or church, exists, and the vision paints a picture of the future state of the organization or church. Most people invest their resources (time, talent, and treasure) because they believe in the mission and have bought into a compelling vision. When a church finds itself at a crossroads, don’t let methods become the driving factor or the hill you die on. Remember why you sacrificed so much to go into ministry and refocus on pursuing the church’s mission.
Create and Follow the Budget: In the sixteenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus said, “The one who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and the one who is unrighteous in a very little thing is also unrighteous in much.” As church leaders, we are to manage God’s resources faithfully. To demonstrate financial accountability to the church and a watching world means taking the time to create a realistic budget and follow it. When a church manages its resources, especially financial resources, faithfully and operates within its means, it produces a healthier church. The result of “the split” at my church meant the loss of about half the congregation; most were seasoned Christians and generous givers. The commercial loan on the facility was due for renewal, and the bank was so concerned they chose not to renew. Fortunately, the adjustments made to the budget placed our church in a better financial position, and I secured a loan with another bank. That’s the short version. There was incredible hardship, stress, pain, and sacrifice for almost two years to secure a new loan. Reductions in the workforce were necessary, as were salary and benefit cuts, eliminating some ministries, and a lot of phone calls and negotiating with lenders. But, our commitment to managing the financial resources through a solid budget process proved our faithfulness and put us on a better track. Creating and following a budget is part of our church culture.
Pray: Because the word of God is alive and active (Hebrews 4:12), there are often aha moments when I read scripture. Early on in my time of ministry, I found Romans 12:12 a guiding verse. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” I found joy in the hope of seeing the mission and vision fulfilled in our church. That hope gave me patience during difficult times. And, as much as I like to control things, I learned to be faithful in prayer. Prayer is a powerful tool; use it.
Even though ministry is challenging, it is possible to have a long-lasting tenure of effective service. I found that staying focused on the mission and vision, faithfully handling the finances, and seeking God’s guidance, comfort, and direction kept me from becoming a statistic.
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