Not only is the move from shepherd to manager not an automatic decision, in many (maybe most) cases it’s the wrong decision.
Most pastors are not called to pivot from being a hands-on pastor to a managerial whiz. Some are, and I’m grateful for what God does in churches when that happens. But it’s not as necessary as we may have been told.
Thankfully, there are other options.
So what can a hands-on shepherding pastor do to stay in pastoral mode without stifling their church’s potential for numerical growth? Here are a few options to consider:
1. Become A Discipling Pastor
In this recent article, I described what I call the Pastoral Prime Mandate from Ephesians 4:11-12. Pastors are not called to do all the ministry for the people in the church. We, along with the other fourfold leadership gifts, are called to equip God’s people for the work of ministry — to make disciples who become disciple-makers.
The good news is, you don’t have to stop being hands-on for that to happen. Instead, you get to extend your pastoral gift by seeing others step into their gifting. The pastoral gift doesn’t have to stop with you. It can be handed off to a new generation.
2. Become a Sending Church
You can only be a hands-on pastor with a limited number of people. But that doesn’t have to inhibit church growth.
When we equip people to become disciple-makers themselves, part of that process is letting them go to plant or serve in other churches when the time comes.
There are so many small/mid-size churches that have a huge kingdom impact because they’re training and sending people into ministry outside their own walls. They may not be well-known because their congregation remains small. But their size doesn’t limit their impact or effectiveness.
3. Do Ministry From The Church Building, Not Just In It
Now more than ever, we have an opportunity to reach people who will never enter our church building. Through online opportunities like live-streaming, blogging, podcasting and more, any church can reach an untold number of people in life-changing ways.
