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Hey Everyone,

I’m hoping to be putting out a few new articles this week.

If you are stopping on by, why not say hi?

Tell us about yourself and maybe some topics you would like to see covered or discussed

How to Plant a Church in a Foreign Country by Jeff Jackson

I. Be sure YOU understand the following:

A. That the church is rooted in the character of God
B. That it His chosen entity in this time to represent Him on earth
C. That Jesus builds it, it is built on Him and the truth about who He is.
D. That it was created to be on a “mission from God.” It has a purpose
in the world AND it has a purpose in the life of its members

II. Because you’ll be planting it in a foreign country, keep the following principles
in mind:

A. You have a specific goal that is measurable–the “4 self” standard

1. Self-governing—-making decisions for themselves and leading
themselves, following their own leaders, not outsiders

2. Self-supporting—shoulder ALL of their own financial responsibilities

3. Self-propagating–devoted to winning souls and reproducing
themselves both locally and internationally–Global vision!!!

4. Self-theologizing—understanding, applying, and communicating
who God is and His truth in culturally appropriate ways.

**SPECIFICS on how to meet these goals:

A. Everything you do sets a precedent–don’t expose the people to or
set precedents that cannot be maintained without foreign resources.

B. Always be concerned about DEPENDENCY on outside resources.

1. There is no biblical model of a church being dependent on outside
resources for its day to day operation or leadership!

2. There is a biblical model for relief from outside, but that is only
under desperate circumstances brought on by nature.

C. They have the Holy Spirit too, bring at least a few of them in on your
decisions as soon as possible. Give them OWNERSHIP as close to
the day of inception as possible–this is crucial for the church’s
self-image….them seeing themselves as the church of Jesus Christ
in their own community.

1. If there is a need to change locations, let them decide
where to go.

2. Challenge them with the task of outreach in the community.
You must be an example and impart the passion to do so,
but let them choose the people you should target, the area
you should target, the method you should use. They know
their city and their people better than you! And, they will
take into account cultural considerations that you wouldn’t
ever think about.

III. Basics of actually doing it:

A. You must GO and share the gospel with the people

B. From the day they get saved, impart a “missions” mindset–
–Jesus calling disciples to Himself, but in the same sentence
imparting “mission” Matt. 4:19 Focus them outward and impart
God’s heart for the world from day one. NEVER let them focus on
their relationship with Him alone, always put it in context of “mission”
as God did with Abraham and Jesus did with the disciples.

C. Be willing to not only teach them publicly and house to house, but
concentrate on relationships, not numbers….just like Jesus.

D. Model interconnectedness in your relationship with them–using your
resources to be a blessing to others, but always in a wise, non-precedent
setting, non-dependency creating way.

E. Demonstrate the church is more than just an occasion for teaching–initiate
the 4 components of Acts 2:42 as soon as possible

F. Begin looking for potential leaders as soon as possible. These would be
people who really get into the word, come early to the services and stay
late, are demonstrating servanthood and other-focusedness, and have
changed significantly enough that those who know them best can see
they are different.

G. Learn the language: preferably before you start, if not, while you are
in the midst of ministry, which is difficult

H. Encourage them to write their own worship, not just translate our songs.

I. Let them know from day one that your goal is to turn the church over
to their own leadership as soon as possible and that you are confident
they can do it.

Wisdom from Mark Driscoll by Daniel Fusco

Mark Driscoll is the controversial pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington. Although I haven’t listened to much of his teaching, what I have listened to has been very solid theologically. I had had his book, ‘Confessions of a Reformissional Rev.’ recommended to me on many occasions. When I finally bought it, I must say that I enjoyed reading it. He is funny and sarcastic and brash. I’m from New Jersey so I appreciate all the elements involved. There was something that he wrote on page 101 of that book that really got me thinking.

In speaking of reaching out as a church, he asked,

1) Who we are reaching out with?
2) Who are we reaching out to?
3) How will we reach out?

These three questions are just brilliant as it helps to focus a church planter in fulfilling their calling. Oftentimes, we make outreach decisions not based on ‘reality’ (which is what these three questions lead us to), but on some past experiences. We often do outreach the way we saw the churches that we were apart of do it. But it often doesn’t translate.

Let’s look at each one:

1) Who we are reaching out with?

Who do you have to do outreach. Oftentimes church planters ‘burn out’ their new fellowship by trying to do something too big with too few people. The people feel burdened to do too much and often they feel that the outreach was unsuccessful in light of the energy exerted. This is the business principle of ‘over promising and under delivering’. It never goes well.

Be honest with yourself. Who do you have who will help? What are their giftings? A good leader and church planter will harness the gifts that the people have and use them for the furtherance of the gospel in your community.

Let me give you an example. I minister in Marin County, California. In Mill Valley, people are serious about their bike riding. Excuse me, their cycling! They get all done up to go out on their bikes. I realize that a cycling ministry in Mill Valley could potentially not only produce fruit, but would also get our name out in our community. I want a cycling ministry. But the problem is, at six months into this church plant, we don’t have any riders in the fellowship. So it would be silly, at this juncture, to do a cycling outreach when none of us even own a good road bike.

2) Who are we reaching out to?

I find this to be the hardest point to really understand for church planters. Who are the people that you are trying to reach? How do they think? What are they concerned about? Oftentimes a Christian’s idea of outreach is to get a cool Christian band and a good Christian speaker. But what is funny is that, most times, only Christians want to hear a good Christian band and a speaker. When the last time one of your unsaved friends came to you and said, “Hey do you want to go hear this lecture?” I thought so. The apostle Paul in Acts 17 met the Athenians where they were at. We need to do the same. We need to know and understand our intended audience.

To further my example, where I minister in Marin, it is one of the richest counties in the entire country. As I said the people love their outdoors activities. I am ministering to predominately affluent, upper class families. Most of the time both parents work high stress jobs for a prime salary. It’s is common for the men to be significantly older than their wives. Oftentimes this means that you have men in their mid to late forties having young children. They are politically liberal (as left as it gets) and are more ‘new age’ than in most areas. They are a sophisticated group, preferring jazz, wine and cheese. We need to know our target audience.

3) How will we reach out?

This third question is the outgrowth of the answers to the first two questions. Once you know who you have to be reaching out and you understand who your target audience is, now the question is, ‘How will you try and reach them?”

Now with my example, knowing everything that I have shared about Marin County, it is not hard to see why trying to do an indie rock outreach doesn’t make much sense. Because of the population of Marin love the outdoors so much, we have an earlier Sunday morning service (9 am). We realize that if we do church later in the morning people would less likely come as it would cut into their outdoors time. We also do a more elegant style of decoration at the church. We often have fresh flowers on our information table. Our approach to evangelism incorporates the people’s openness to ‘spiritual things’ and seeks to point to Jesus.

Conclusion

I have found that these three questions help to focus the outreach ministry of a church. When you understand the reality of who you have to reach out with and who you are trying to reach, then you can tailor the ministry to the specific people group that God has called you to.

The Use of the Internet by Daniel Fusco

We live in a digital society. More than 70% of Americans have Internet access at home. This makes the internet a major mission field. Every church planter should utilize the internet to help promote the church. Most people look at a website before they visit the church. As church’s still spend thousands of dollars on Yellow Page ads, newspaper advertising, and radio broadcasting, the new generation of planters are abandoning what seems to be the way of the past and devoting almost all their resources to using the internet. And what is amazing is that you can do quite a lot for a little bit of money.

E-mail

If you aren’t doing e-mail, then you’re missing out on connecting with virtually everyone. I get aggravated when I here pastor’s say, ‘I’m too busy to email’. If Jesus was alive today, I guarantee that He’d have a slamming email ministry. If Jesus wrote the Seven Letters of Revelation 2-3, I’m sure He would have emailed them.

A Website

Every church should have a website. Period. For the younger generation, if you don’t have a website, you are already antiquated. A church should have a good, up to date website. And pick a simple, short web address. When I first planted Calvary Chapel New Brunswick, NJ, it was called Reason to Rejoice Christian Fellowship. We had ‘www.reasontorejoicefellowship.org’ as our website. What a lousy web address! It was too long and people would always mess up the spelling and have a hard time finding us. Add on that my old email address of ‘pastordaniel@reasontorejoicefellowship.org’. A nightmare. www.reasontorejoice.org was much better. A church should have no excuse. Get a website.

You can also put up sermons and videos on your website, as long as you have enough bandwidth. This is a great way to get people to know about who you are and what you’re about.

For good insight into a good website, look at websites like www.cnn.com, www.yahoo.com, www.espn.com. You’ll notice that they all run with a certain style and it’s that way for a reason. They have spent virtually millions on marketing and research to try and get people to spend time on their website. Instead of spending millions, study what they did and recreate it for the glory of God.

Blogs

In our digital world, people still crave community. Blogs (short for weblogs) offer that. Popular blog locations include wordpress and blogger. You can have a blog up for free. This is a great way to help build community online. I am presently using www.danielfusco.blogspot.com as a sort of online diary about the planting of Calvary Chapel North Bay. The big drawback is that someone has to do some policing of it. Sometimes blogs can get pretty nasty as people can be that way. But it is a great opportunity to promote community online. As I said, blogs are free, so you can’t really beat the price.

MySpace

The much maligned MySpace is actually a tremendous internet resource for churches. You can connect with people in your area simply by doing a search of your area. You can add friends and people can choose to either allow you or not. We have a blog for our Sunday night ministry, Liquid, www.myspace.com/liquidmarin . You can do bulletin blasts and all of your ‘friends’ can find out about the new things that you are doing. Oftentimes, churches have MySpace pages for their Youth Group. I highly recommend it for both Youth Groups and the Churches themselves. Again, MySpace is free. You have to love the price.

Craigslist

Born here in San Francisco, if you live near a city, everyone is on Craigslist. It is a great opportunity to let people know about your church. Now we tried to use it here in the Bay Area but we were flagged and removed because the people here around San Francisco are generally hostile to the Gospel. But it wasn’t like that in New Jersey. It’s a great opportunity to let people know about what you are doing. Again, the ads are free so you can’t beat the price.

Google Ads

A lot of ministries are using Google ads to promote their churches. I personally have never used it, so I can’t speak on it from experience. I’ve been told that it fee is nominal (you pay by the number of clicks your website gets) but I’m not sure if there is any real return on your investment.

As the world becomes more digital and connected via the Internet, the body of Christ has got to stay on the cutting edge of technology to get the Gospel out. Don’t be left behind. Have a strong web presence.

Five Ministry Lessons for the Young Planter by Daniel Fusco

Planting a church is hard enough. But planting a church when you are young (I mean less than 35 years of age) can make it even harder. There are less life experiences to draw from, people’s perceptions, as well as, to be honest, the fact that younger people have a tendency to be more ‘green’. I say this because I was (am) one of those young planters. I was taken on staff at a church at 24 and I stepped out to plant a church at close to 26. I am presently on my second church plant and I’m still only 30. My hope is that this article will be an encouragement to those of you who are younger.

In The Ministry
1. Let no one despise your youth
Therefore, you shouldn’t either

Paul wrote 2 letters to Timothy that we have in our Bibles. Timothy was a young pastor and Paul exhorted him to “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”(1 Timothy 4:12). Paul told Timothy that it was not about your age but it was about your walk. Young church planters will often hear a lot of misgivings by older people about their age. I sure did. But we need to take the Word of God to heart. We should be an example of godliness. Let no one despise your youth. Oftentimes a younger pastor will despise his own youth. Listen, if the Lord has called you into the ministry, than you should trust Him. We have tremendous examples of young men who were mightily used by God: David with Goliath, Stephen in the Book of Acts, and our Lord Jesus. Oftentimes, the Sovereign God can use the zeal of youth powerfully.

2. Shut up and Listen.
God may have blessed you with teachers

One of the biggest mistakes that young pastors make is talking too much. Let me give you an example, you teach a sermon on Creation. Then someone who is a college level physicist comes up to you and begins to call you to account on your bad science. Most young pastors will start to argue and walk away and think, ‘This guy doesn’t trust the Lord’. I have found that God will put people into our fellowships that know a lot more than us about many things. We are called to teach the Word and love the people. But that doesn’t mean that we have cornered the market on all forms of knowledge. When someone in your fellowship is taking the time to correct you about something that they know more about, shut up and listen. Ask questions. Learn from the people that God is asking to learn from you. In my life as a pastorate, I have been blessed to have men and women in the fellowships that are significantly smarter than me in many areas. I have learned, grown, and been shaped by the wisdom that God has given to these precious people. Don’t forget to shut up and listen!

3. Honor your Elders
People in different life places understand things uniquely

This point is very similar to point 2 in many respects. When I say honor your elders, I mean it in two distinct ways. 1) If the Lord has given you elders in leadership in the fellowship, honor them. This is both Biblical and rational. Elders will often keep you balanced and sharp. They will be the first to stop you from making a major mistake. They should have opportunity to speak into your life. 2) People who are older (and in different life places) than you should be honored. Before I was married, I honored the married people in the fellowship by learning about the experience of marriage from them. For the parents, I would ask them about the application of the Bible to their parenting. I honored them by seeking to understand how the Lord is leading them in their respective office. I have been blessed in both church plants that I have been involved with to have godly elderly people involved. They are invaluable resources of wisdom. Honor them.

4. Let all Criticism be Constructive
Even when it wasn’t meant to be

As a pastor, you’ll hear tons of criticisms about everything. The fishbowl of public ministry can be grueling to even the thickest-skinned pastor. I have learned that every criticism that I have ever received has some merit. I remember one time; an angry woman told me that I had no love because I refused her request. She said it in anger and I could have easily dismissed her. But in reality, I don’t love nearly as fully or perfectly as Jesus does. So her criticism drove me to seek the Lord for more of His love. Rather than dismissing criticism out of hand, why not take a moment to bring it before the Lord to see what He might say. I have often found that the best thing I can do when someone levies a criticism is to ask him or her to pray for me right then and there. The Lord almost always ministers to my heart at that time.

5. If you Defend Yourself, God will let you
So don’t be defensive and let Him be your defense

I’ve heard Pastor Chuck Smith, the founder of Calvary Chapel say ‘if you defend yourself, God will let you’ a myriad of times. It’s so true. If you go to defend yourself, God will let you. Being defensive is simply pride on display. David let the Lord be his defense. So did Jesus. You don’t have to defend yourself. If you are in the right, the Light of the world will reveal it in due time. If you are in the wrong, well, the Light of the world will reveal it in due time. Until then, trust in the Lord with all your heart. Repent when needed and rejoice in His grace.

Ten Things I Wish Someon Told Me by Daniel Fusco

Being in the midst of my second church plant, I often try and think about the things that I wish someone would have spoken to me about before I made a ton of mistakes. Yes, I grew from these mistakes and the Lord always brings beauty out of ashes, but if only someone would have told me certain things. Now that I think about it, it would be better aptly titled, ‘Things I Really Took to Heart Before Church Planting” as I’m sure some of these concepts I had heard about before planting.

These will be in no particular order and I’ll probably have to have a few more of these 10 Things I Wish Someone Told Me articles. But here goes…

1. God is more concerned with the Minister than the Ministry.

I was shocked to realize that God was more concerned with the state of my heart than He was with the perceived success of the plant. I know a pastor who told me that the first five years was for the pastor’s growth, the next five years is for the fellowship’s growth. He even went so far to call his first church plant’s people ‘the poor practice sheep’. When God calls a man to go and plant a church, He loves that man enough to kill him. It often takes some time for us to realize, but God is more concerned with making the church planter like Jesus than He is in blessing the work. Don’t get me wrong, He’ll do an amazing work in the fellowship. But He’s more concerned with your growth, than the church’s growth.

2. Visit the Local Pastors, not the Local Churches.

It is important for a church planter to visit and meet the pastors in the area that he is moving into. I’ll speak in point 3 about the major pitfall of most church planters in this regard. But relationships with local pastors are invaluable. Those who have been in the area for awhile will have a unique perspective, an experiential perspective, about an area. You can learn from them. But don’t visit their churches. I would say even if they invite you, don’t go. Why? Because if you have a heart for people, you will build relationships with them and when they hear that you are going to plant in the area, some will want to come. And then the ‘sheep stealing’ discussion starts. Church planting is hard enough and the last thing you want is to get off on the wrong foot with people that you want to be close to. I made this mistake personally, so I know.

3. Don’t let your Calling Drive a Wedge between You and Other Pastors.

Almost all first time church planters make this mistake. I made a reference to this in my second point. Here’s how it happens… You sense God’s call to an area and you are rightfully excited. Upon your arrival, you are filled with ideas and vision. You meet with another local pastor and as you speak of your ideas, you make them feel as if they are in God’s doghouse. They will automatically resent you. An example of this is when a planter says something like, ‘God has called me here because He wants to see a Bible Church here’. That says to most people, ‘You are not a Bible teaching church.’ Humility is not learned, it is a consequence from being broken. Because He has broken you, you will be humble. So although you are just getting started, and you probably haven’t been broken much yet, try and respect your brothers who have been plowing the field that you are going to work in. Remember this, ‘You are not God’s gift to the area that you are called to! Jesus is. You are just an unprofitable servant doing what you were asked to do.’

4. Don’t even Think about Quitting for at Least 4 Years.

They say that 80% of church plants fail. Why? They fail for numerous reasons, I’m sure. I think one of the main reasons is that guys quit too soon. Before you even step out, you should be prepared to commit 5 years of your life to it. If God is calling you, what is 5 years anyway? As I said, you should not even think about throwing the towel in until you’ve been laboring for 4 years. It takes time for a church to get established (most people will say that a church is still a baby at 10 years old). God will work in His timing so be patient. I don’t have statistics to back it up, but I imagine of the 80% that fail, most of them shut the doors within the first few years.

5. The Attacks Will Come so Don’t Freak Out When They Do.

When the children of Israel left Egypt did they just coast to the Promised Land? Nope. They had attacks from the outside (the Egyptians and the Amalekites). They had attacks from the inside (Korah, the Golden Calf, the 10 scared spies, etc). The same holds true for the ministry of our Lord Jesus and the apostle Paul. The attacks will come. If you sign up for the front lines of a battle, don’t freak out when bullets start flying. When you are called to plant a church, you just signed up to be on the front lines, expect there to be issues. They will come from people on the outside and they will come from people on the inside. Expect them and when they arrive, don’t think it’s strange.

6. Before You Become the Senior (or Lead) Pastor, Be An Assistant Pastor.

I believe that this is so crucial and I am soo grateful for my training as an assistant pastor. In every field, you have to learn the ropes before you take the reins. As a doctor, you don’t just jump from Medical School into the Operating Room. First you do your residency. Same is true of business. The guy from the mail room never gets hired as the CEO. Never. Why? Because they first need to learn the ropes of business. I have found that the ministry is caught (much like a cold). I learned soo much from catching the ministry from my pastor. I learned things to avoid, ways to handle situations, how to gracefully let someone leave the church, how to handle a wounded sheep, etc. Most pastors who have never been Assistant Pastors normally hurt a lot of people because they need caught the ministry from another pastor. My advice would be, “If you want to be plant a church, get on staff at a church first.”

7. Get a Mentor, You’ll Need Him.

My pastor, John Henry Corcoran, told me before I left to plant the first church, that the next set of lessons that I need to learn can only be learned as the pastor. But once you step on out, you are in uncharted territory. You want and need someone who you can bounce ideas off of. You want to have someone who can say to you, ‘Whatever you do, don’t do that.’ I did that once and …’ You’ll also need someone who can support you personally. Once you step on out, the enemy will be gunning for you like never before. You need accountability as most church planters feel isolated from people. Make sure that you have someone who will ask you the hard questions and keep your struggles and issues before the Lord.

8. The Key to Church Planting – Discipleship

There are a small percentage of church plants that take off like wildfire. Most of them are slow going. Like Jesus, discipleship is the key to building the kingdom. Discipleship involves relationship and relationship takes time and energy. You need to pour into the people that God has brought to you. You need to be available and open with them. You need, like the apostle Paul, to be a poured out offering. Discipleship builds solid churches.

9. Beware of Friends and Family Who Want to Help with the Church Plant.

I know, this statement is a bit shocking. I have found from my own experiences and in talking with many other pastors that one of the biggest hindrances to a pastor’s joy is the well meaning friends and family members (extended) who want to be involved. I often tell men to discourage their close buddies and families members from being there at all in the early stages.

10. Make Sure That You Keep Feeding Your Soul.

For most church planters, they are used to going to church. Even if you are in service at the church, you are often hearing the Word taught a few times a week. Once you step out, you need to make sure that you are still sitting under the teaching of the Word. I have found that the best way to do this is to pick a ‘Pastor’ for the next three months. It can be anyone you want. But listen to a few Bible studies a week from a certain pastor. Maybe study through a book or sermon series with a certain pastor. As I am writing this, I am presently studying through the book of Colossians with Pastor Tim Brown of Calvary Chapel Fremont and am being absolutely blessed and convicted. If you let this lapse, you will sense the leanness of your soul.

Okay, that is my first 10. No doubt there will be more to come.

God bless you all

When People Leave by Daniel Fusco

People leave churches. That is a simple fact. Oftentimes, pastors and church planters find more sorrow in people leaving then they find joy in people coming. Anytime someone leaves a church, it affects the pastor, especially a church planter or the pastor of a small church. When a family of four people leaves a church of forty, 10% of the church just left. But contrast, when the same family of four leaves a church of 200, it’s only 2% and the impact is much less severe. Oftentimes, people can learn more about their pastor based on how he handles people leaving the church.

My heart in this article is to give the church planter some perspective on how to handle when people leave the church. I have heard of many horror stories about how people are treated by the leadership and congregation when they leave a church and I believe it breaks the Lord’s heart. For those of you who enjoy pneumonic devices, our study on Leaving will center around 5 ‘L’s. Ultimately, I believe that the goal should be a heart that feels this way automatically (ie. the heart of Christ). But often the right heart follows obedient actions. I pray that this will be a blessing to you.

It’s an opportunity to LET

When people leave the church, it is an opportunity to LET God be God. We have to remember that not every person fits into every congregation. In reality, all of the redeemed fit perfectly into the kingdom of God and His universal church. But on this side of eternity, no every person fits perfectly into each ministry’s style. There are times when people, for whatever reason, can not learn from a certain teacher. Maybe the messages are too cerebral or too milky. Maybe the Lord wants to use a person’s gifting in another body for a specific purpose. Could it be that God, in His sovereign purposes, wants someone to be somewhere else for their own growth and the growth of another body? Could it be that a certain person’s attendance at the church that you pastor will hinder His work? We have to remember that God is sovereign and it is His church, not yours. When people leave it is an opportunity to LET God order His church on this side of eternity.

It’s an opportunity to LEARN

When people leave the church, it is an opportunity to LEARN about your pastoring and people’s perceptions of the church. Now I realize that this point will not sit well with some people but I believe that it is important enough to pursue. Each child of God, pastors included, is in the process of sanctification. We are all continually being conformed to the image of Christ. Not one of us ‘has arrived’. When people tell you that they are leaving, if you have a teachable spirit, you can learn much. I have made it a personal policy that when people tell me that they will be leaving the church, to ask them a few questions. Now before you ever do this, you have to ready for them to answer it honestly and you shouldn’t get upset with them for their answers. Remember, you are asking them because you want to grow and learn. Back to the questions, ‘Is there any way that I, as the pastor, could have tended to you better?’ ‘Is there anything that you feel that the church is lacking that is causing you to want to fellowship elsewhere?’ ‘If you could change anything about our ministry here, what would it be?’

The answers to these types of questions can range from the purely trivial (ie. I don’t like the new color of the sanctuary chairs) to the profound (ie. My children leave the Kid’s church all spun out on sugar without any recollection of what, if anything was taught). Now the reason for these answers can be manifold but at least you will get an understanding of how the ministry is perceived and how you can pray and grow. To be honest with you, I have found this to be invaluable to understand my failings as a pastor.

In conclusion on this point, I think that it is important to take EVERYTHING that is shared in these situations to the Lord for Him to address with you. Too many times, a pastor will hear the same reoccurring reasons for people leaving and instead of bringing them to the Lord; they just stay upset at the people. When this happens, the pastor is missing out on God’s gift of growth.

It’s an opportunity to LOVE

When someone tells you that they are leaving the church, I believe that the Lord is giving you one last opportunity to LOVE and PRAY for the person. Do believe leave the church having felt disrespected and disposable? Or do you send them away blessed and encouraged? I have made it a personal policy to always pray for and bless people on the way out the door. I commit them into the Lord’s hands for His loving care. I ask the Lord to place them exactly where He wants them for His glory. When the prayer is over, I remind the people how much I love them and have been grateful for our time together. I tell them that I am always there for them and even though we may fellowship in different places, we are all part of His body. I believe that this gives God tremendous glory and I can’t tell you how many times, those same folks have gotten in touch when things have happened so that I can pray for them and encourage them. They may never come back to the church, but at least that relationship stays in tact.

It’s an opportunity to LEAN

When somebody leaves the church, it is an opportunity to LEAN upon Christ. The Bible teaches that we can ‘cast our cares upon Him because He cares for you.’ (1 Peter 5:7). As children of God, we are constantly learning how to abide in Christ. We know that we cannot bear any fruit unless we do. We abide in Him when we choose to lean upon Him at those times of struggle and trial. When people are leaving the church, it gives the pastor a great opportunity to walk by faith and to learn to rest in His everlasting arms. Whether the anxiety stems from ministry needs, a drop in the offering, what people might say, etc., when people leave the church it can cause intense amounts of pastoral anxiety. Brothers, lean upon Christ and be at rest when people leave.

It’s an opportunity to LEAD

When people leave the church, it is an opportunity to LEAD the church in grace. It is all too often that churches have a cultic feel to them because the people shun or look down upon people for leaving. As the pastor, we can often foster this type of mentality by speaking ill or talking down on the people who have left. Oftentimes the pastor does this to make himself feel better and it is totally carnal. As the pastor you are a sheep with a bell on at most. When people leave, do not abide gossip or maliciousness. Continue to lead the church as Jesus does: with grace, dignity, integrity, and love. Remember Jesus walked the Calvary road before us and leads by example. He didn’t stop walking in grace simply because He was hurt. He kept on to the glory of God.