7 Areas to Focus On In Your First Year of a New Pastorate
Unlike most other jobs, the work of a pastor has no clear
instruction booklet that tells you what you’re supposed to be doing on a daily
basis. I remember how nervous I was when
I found out that I would be going straight from seminary into my own church
district (instead of the “typical” track where you are assigned to work under a
senior pastor in a larger church for few years to gain experience). The
learning curve has been steep the past three years and I am still learning every day, but if you are
beginning a new assignment in a district or a single church, learn from my
mistakes. If I could go back in time and do it over again, these are the 7
areas that I would focus on in the first year.
Side note: keep in mind that much of what you end up doing will
depend on the size of the congregation(s) and your own personal gifts/abilities. There are congregational dynamics that happen in any church which you need to
be aware of and will impact the way you do ministry. A
MUST READ article on
that can be found
here. You may like some areas of pastoral work better than
others (for example, you may be more inclined to do visitation over
administrative work, or prefer preaching instead of training). Whatever your
particular church size or unique skillset, you should still try to pay
attention to these areas in your fist year.
1) Observation
Specifically for your first three to six months in your new
church, I would not chair any important meetings, make any large changes or
otherwise do anything that would jolt the church. Don’t feel like you have to start being busy right away… believe
me, that time will come. I remember feeling bad because the first few weeks on
the job, I didn’t have much to do and I felt like I wasn’t doing my job correctly. From my research both theoretical and anecdotal, this is actually quite normal. Your first task should really be to observe your surroundings.
Pastoral work is primarily relational more than
administrative, and in a new environment you are going to be working with people
who you have never met before. So, start by getting comfortable. Sit in on board
meetings as a fly on the wall to gain a feel of the different relational
dynamics in the group. Sit in all of
the different Sabbath schools within your church (all the way from the children’s
divisions to the adults). Basically, observe as much as you can within your
church.
The benefit to you in doing this is twofold: one, it will
help you to see the church from the local member’s standpoint, and two, it gives
you visibility among your members (this is important early on and gives members a chance to meet &
greet you).
2) Visitation
Plan a visitation blitz early on and try to visit as many
members in their homes as possible (no, not in your home, not in your office... in their home). It will get harder
for you to do this later on with your responsibilities, so do this at the
beginning. The rationale behind this the same as point #1. Moreover, doing
this, you will be able to gain a feel for the individuals that make up your
church. Start with your key leaders in your church board and work down from
there. Spend no more than 30-45 minutes in the home and try to cover these
areas during your visit. Remember this acronym: FORT.
Family: How many kids? Do they have family in the area? What do you like about the
neighborhood? Any good restaurants in the area? Just general questions about
themselves.
Occupation: Where do they work? What led them to do that work? Etc.
Religion: How long have they been a member of the church or an Adventist? Was religion a
big thing in their home of origin? What have they enjoyed most about being a
member of this church? What are some areas that they would change in the
congregation? (Don’t let this question drag on since disgruntled members may
vent--limit it to one or two points.)
Testimony: How did they personally come to the Lord? What do they love best about knowing Him? Where do they think God has gifted them to get involved?
End with a prayer, thank them for their time, tell them you
look forward to working with them, and move on. You may want to consider taking notes of each visit and keeping them on
file so that you remember people’s names and their families (not to mention any
noteworthy details you may hear in conversation).
3) Preaching
Whatever your preaching style, bring your A-game, especially in the beginning! Give them
your best sermons here and please try to use NO NOTES! Why not preach a series
outlining your views on your personal calling to ministry, the Gospel, and life? Give the church an idea of who you are. I’ve also heard the suggestion that you
could even give a week-long revival or hold an evangelism week in your first year and
invite church members to bring their friends.
Remember, at this point you are still new and novel; people will be much more
favorable and willing to hear what you say now
than at any other time in your ministry at the church.
4) Visioning
In order to look ahead at what you’re going to do, you need
to look back at where your new church is coming from. If you really want to get a good pulse of that
you’re walking into, ask to see the last 3-5 years’ worth of board/business
meeting minutes and study them. This will give you an idea of your new church’s
strengths and areas for growth, and might spur some ideas in terms of what to do.
Why not also have a visioning weekend with your leaders
sometime in the first year to become acquainted with one another and hammer out
a shared vision for the future of the church? In seminary, I was taught the following principle: “People will rarely, if ever, take
ownership for something which they themselves are not a part of creating.” Lead
from consensus rather than telling them, “This is what you will be doing.” When you
help create a shared vision at the beginning, there is a better chance that
they will be willing to follow along rather than be pastor-driven movement.
5) Planning and Delegating
If you have a multi-church district, decide when you will be
where. Keep in mind, YOU are the one who decides your schedule, not your church
(more on that in point #7). If you have a church office, I would set office hours
here and let your church know. If you have a district where you all speak the
same language, why not gather the elders from all of your churches together
once a quarter for training, prayer and encouragement? (I have a bilingual
district and, while you can also do it here too, your brain may be as fried as
mine having to translate back and forth). Consider putting together a
preaching calendar together with your leaders and involving them in it. The
idea here is to get ideas down on paper as far as your own personal schedule
and direction with the church(es) and invite your leaders to be a part of the
conversation.
6) Community Networking
As mentioned earlier, your first few weeks are going to be
pretty slow. Why not take some time to get to know your area? Get lost and
drive around town to see the new area that you’re going to be working in. I
would also stop by your local officials' offices (city mayor, hospitals, police department,
etc.) and introduce yourself as the new Adventist pastor in the area. Offer them
your support and ask them how you can be of support to them in their work as
public officials. I’ve never been rejected doing this; the people are typically
very nice and it is a good opportunity for networking.
Also, become familiar with any local ministerial associations
and get a list of local community service agencies in case there are any
visitors or members who need help with basic necessities like food, water,
medical care, bills, etc. (and they will
come, so it’s better to be ready beforehand.)
7) Boundary Setting
Boundaries are, in my opinion, one of the MOST important
things you can do when you begin. This lays the groundwork for what the church
can expect from you as well as establishes what you expect from the church. Someone once said, “People will take
from you whatever you let them take.” And it’s true!
One of the biggest drawbacks of not having a set guideline
of work requirements as a pastor is that people often want to make your schedule
and give you your duties. Unfortunately, one of the highest values that gets
placed in determining success is “busyness.” Especially if you’ve never been in
a senior pastor position before, some pastors may feel like they have to be doing something at all times. This can lead to some very unhealthy patterns of behavior:
- Some pastors will accept calls from their
members at any hour of the day on any day.
- Some pastors will gladly drop whatever plans
they have to tend to whatever “urgent” matter a member presents them with.
- Some pastors will cave in to the first complaint they
receive from a strong personality.
-
Some pastors will work 7 days a week and wear it
as a "badge of honor."
I remember someone once told me to work basically seven days a week and
to take breaks “here and there, in between whenever I could.” Umm… no. As Seventh-day Adventists,
one of the primary principles that we emphasize is a Sabbath in peoples' lives. We recognize that we are not human doings; we're human beings, created to
"be" on a work/rest cycle as we find outlined in scripture. Sure,
this routine is not salvific but it does propose that if followed, this rhythm
improves the quality of one's personal life, family life, and work
effectiveness, among other things. It is contrary to our beliefs to expect any
pastor to work nonstop every weekday and weekend with no time off and with no
time for a personal or a family Sabbath of his own.
Your responsibilities are (in this order):
1)
Your relationship God and your health
2)
Your family
3)
Your duties as a pastor and to your church
Be clear with your church about what day is your day off. Establish boundaries within your church board in terms of how you expect
communication and disagreements within the church to be handled. Be clear with
your leaders with what they can expect from you and what you expect from them. Obviously,
emergencies will happen and you may
need to flexible to deal with a change in your schedule. However, you
are not superman; the church will survive without our help.
Keep these basic pointers in mind, look out for the end of
your “honeymoon period” with the church at around the 6 month mark, always be
willing to admit your mistakes, stay humble, and learn all you can as you go along, and you will surely do a great job. Blessings in your new assignment!
Have any other
suggestions? Leave them below!