A summary of some of the teaching from the 2024 App Region Pastors’ Conference:
We’re Not Alone
Our denomination is not alone in this church and leadership crisis.
- 5,000 churches per year closed between 2010 and 2020
- Experts predict 10,000 per year will close between 2020 and 2030
- That’s roughly 300 per day
- This is the most significant religious shift since the Great Awakening
- 40 million people are shifting away from the church
- This is more than the numbers of those saved during all our great awakenings and Billy Graham crusades combined
- 20% of Southern Baptist pulpits in the southeast (the Bible belt buckle) are currently vacant
- Many of these churches have little hope of finding a pastor
- Southern Baptist churches used to receive over 200 resumes when looking for a pastor
- Not they receive less than 30, and many of those are poor candidates
- They have more pastors over 60 than under
- Enrolment in seminaries is down 30%
- 40% of pastors seriously consider quitting
Research indicates that:
- 35% of churches are dying
- 35% are plateaued
- 23% are growing
- 7% are reproducing
- 0% are multiplying (planting new churches that are going on to plant new churches)
However, the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. Jesus has promised to be with us until the end. He has given us the Spirit to empower us to be the church. And he has always provided leaders for his people.
God knew what we’d be facing 2,000 years ago as the apostles penned the New Testament. This isn’t the first time God’s people have experienced this. God sees it all and knows what he’s doing. The test for us is whether we will complain about the times in which we live or make the most of it.
Rather than losing hope, we must ask, “What can we do?” We don’t have to do everything, but we can do something. We don’t have to come up with the idea that will change the world. We just need to hold the rope we’ve been handed. We can be faithful and believe God will use us. We can see these challenges as opportunities rather than threats. We can get back to the basics and remember that discipleship is the growth engine of the church. We can move out of a programing mindset and into a discipleship mindset. And through this discipleship, we will see leaders emerge.
Book recommendation:
- The Great Dechurching by Davis and Graham
Where to Start?
We start with discipleship. As we do, we may see God save 20 people and perhaps two from that group will be called to pastor. Your next pastor may not know Jesus yet. But before you start discipling, make sure you’re following Jesus yourself. Say with Paul, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” This gives gravity and longevity in your ministry.
Three Characteristics Necessary for Christlike Leadership
- Obedience
Our ability to make an impact rises and falls with our obedience to Jesus. Cut down the space between knowing what’s right and doing what’s right. Credibility emerges from obedience. - Integrity
What we say and how we live must align. - Ability to apply scripture
Don’t just know scripture, let it light your path and live in your heart. Meditate on it day and night so you can figure out how to adjust your life to it.
Discipleship Pipeline
Though the following pipeline is laid out in a linear fashion, actual development is messy, with different aspects happening simultaneously.
- Discipling
Develop relationships with people in which you help them trust and follow Jesus, from conversion to multiplication. While maintaining responsibility for everyone under your care, focus in a special way on a select few, the way Jesus did with his disciples. Who shows interest? Who is available? Who is teachable? Invite them to spend more time with you. Be intentional. - Discovering Calling
What are their gifts, talents, passions, and opportunities. Where these overlap is likely where they should focus their ministry energies. - Equipping and Mobilizing
How can you help them take the next step? This may mean losing them to another ministry or church, but that’s okay. God can raise up more leaders behind them.
A Process
You might consider a micro-group process, in which you gather 3-ish people who will commit to:
- Daily Bible reading (Mark is a good place to start)
- Weekly meeting
Just remember that Bible study is not the aim of the group. Following Jesus is the aim.
As the group reads, ask:
- “What’s Jesus saying to me?”
- “What will I do in response?”
Each member should journal as they read. They can use the acronym SOWING to help:
- Scripture: Read one chapter per day
- Observation: Write what you see in the text. What grabs you? What stands out?
- Walk: Write how you will practically walk in light of what you’ve read today
- Invite: Pray, inviting Jesus into your life today, to help you live out his word
- Nurture relationships: Invest in one relationship in a meaningful way today. Could be a text, phone call, lunch invite, etc.
- Good news: Plan to share the gospel with one person today
The weekly micro-group meeting could look something like this:
- Connect: What were their highs and lows from last week? This kind of mutual sharing helps put the group at ease.
- Celebrate: What wins can the group celebrate? This can be as simple as celebrating the fact that they all read their Bibles every day. Encourage them and thank God for his blessings.
- Check in: How are they doing? Get real, hold each other accountable, and follow up on concerns that were brought up last week.
- Coach: Ask helpful questions to keep them moving forward. What did Jesus say to them in their Bible reading? What did they do in response? How can the group help them?
- Care: Pray for each other specifically.
- Communicate: Make sure everyone knows what they need to know to successfully complete another week of discipleship. For example, what day and time will the group meet next? Are their challenging passages coming up in the book? Etc.
Books
Conference participants received two books:
The Master Plan of Evangelism, by Robert Coleman
We selected this book to help us further develop our thinking about discipleship. We will have a Zoom discussion about the book on February 29 at 6pm. Everyone is invited to join the discussion, whether you attended the conference or not. Only we do ask that you read the book first.
The Path to Becoming a Pastor, by Bobby Jamieson
We selected this book as a resource you can have on hand to give to someone who aspires to become a pastor. It covers topics like:
- Using aspiration language instead of calling language
- How to remain humble while aspiring
- How to seek wisdom about the aspiration
- Making the Biblical qualifications your compass
- How to get started toward pastoral ministry in your local church