Our organization gets calls and emails from a variety of churches. Some are in a season of transition and want our help in making some changes before they enter their next phase of ministry, while others are in the midst of something more serious. Occasionally, we get contacted by an individual who is very vague and seems hesitant to tell us what is really going on at his or her church. We know there can be privacy concerns and we don’t need to know all the details upfront, but there are definitely times when we get the sense that people think we might be unable or unwilling to help them if we knew the true extent of their church’s issues.
We want to encourage you with this: don’t let your church’s specific circumstances keep you from calling us!
As an organization that has been doing intentional interim pastor ministry for more than two decades now, we have pretty much seen it all. Not much surprises us anymore. We understand that pastors commit egregious sins, that church leaders mishandle funds, and that congregation members engage in ugly disagreements with one another. We also know that churches can slowly veer off course over the course of time—eventually finding themselves in places they never expected.
One thing we also understand after doing intentional interim pastor ministry for as long as we have is that the “presenting problems” in a church are typically not the real issues. Many churches only see what’s on the surface: the declining membership, the inability to keep a lead pastor on staff long-term, the ongoing disagreements about how Sunday morning services are conducted, or some other issue that seems to keep the church from flourishing. Underneath these issues are often things that are much bigger, and until those deeper things are uncovered and addressed, the same types of problems will continue to surface.
No church is beyond help because no circumstances are bigger than God. Our interim pastors have seen healing and restoration come to churches that many people would have said were too far gone to be turned around. We’ve also worked with churches that had been stagnant and unfruitful for years and have seen them completely revitalized. The God we serve can do miracles, and we love to see Him get all the glory when a church is miraculously changed!
Our intentional interim pastors come to churches that are willing to put in the work to make the necessary changes. We don’t do the work for them, but instead help them discover where God is leading and then graciously guide the congregation and leadership there.
If you are feeling a conviction that your church needs to make some serious changes, please contact us. It is our mission to help churches in whatever situation they find themselves.