One of my goals for this year is to try to find or develop a template churches could use as they transition from being fully-funded to bivocational. Of the churches in my Area there are two who had pastors retire in January. Each of these churches had been served by fully-funded pastors in the past but find they are not financially able to continue to have fully-funded pastors. I believe this will be a growing trend in the next several years, and I do not have a good method for helping such churches make that transition. One of the churches simply called a local person the Sunday after their previous pastor's retirement became effective. We'll see how well that works out, but I must admit I am concerned about the long-term effects of such action. The other church has yet to create a search committee, and I am hopeful that I will be able to work with that church and lead them through a systematic search for a bivocational pastor.
Have any of my readers led a church through such a transition? If so, what were some of the major challenges you and the church faced? Looking back, what do you wish you had done differently? What was the most effective part of the transition? If the transition occurred more than three years ago, what have been the consequences to the church with the move to bivocational ministry? Any help or advice you can give me will be greatly appreciated. If you wish to make a long comment, please send it to dennisbickers@abc-indiana.org. THANKS!
No comments:
Post a Comment