MISSION MULTIPLICATION (while saving money!)
The Challenge
Rising costs per employee (around $290,000 a year per full time pastor in the field). Most pastors have a very heavy workload overseeing two, three or even more churches. Most are simply trying to gain some growth for a few existing churches in their district. Many have a burden to reach other communities near them that still don't have an Adventist presence. Most can't even keep up with what they currently are responsible for... there is no way they can add an additional church, and besides the Conference doesn't have the money to hire someone to start a new church. And even if they did, it may take many years to support just 1/2 a salary for a pastor.
What if there was a way to reach that community, and many others like it, without adding to the work load of the pastor? Is there a way to plant more churches in the Conference without adding salaries to the payroll? There is!
Lay pastors.
Challenge Overcome
Every ministerial director can identify 5-10 churches in their territory that could easily be led by a lay pastor instead of being a third wheel in a district.
Just imagine the boost to a district when the vocational pastor only has two churches instead of three; or one church instead of two? The growth that could occur in the healthy church with a growing community! Or, maybe he/she could then plant another!
What about those unworked towns? How many towns in your conference should have a church.... but there just isn't enough money!
What if you had just 1 pastor on your team who could oversee 5, 10, or even 20 churches? Crazy you say? Not really. Florida Conference has one full time employee that now oversees about 90 churches that are lay led. I personally have worked with up to a dozen churches at once myself (with a budget of about $30,000 a year is all it takes).
What if more pastors could function on this level? Would that free up some financial resources? Would this help us multiply and advance God's mission work faster and farther in each territory?
I hope you answer yes!
I understand this doesn't work for every existing church, nor for every community we need to plant a church.... But it could go a long way in helping us achieve so much more before Jesus comes!!!
If you are interested just email me and we can explore some God shaped possibilities!
Galatians 6:9
Chris