Pastor: Preventer or enabler?

It was amazing to see all the people ready and willing to serve in various ministry roles at our church. Areas that had long needed more people involved in serving and leading had lists of those waiting to serve. Is this a fantasy, dream, or reality? It really happened—during a transition time between pastors. As a member of the pastor calling committee, I wanted to understand what caused this sudden interest in serving, and I wanted to work toward keeping this momentum going with our new pastor.

While our former pastor was still with us, filling volunteer and elected positions had become next to impossible. Ministry programs were shrinking, and some even stopped functioning. Church leadership needed to work on this volunteer gap and find out its root causes.

The rise of volunteers seemed to occur immediately upon the departure of the current pastor. During the transition period between pastors, new faces and people willing to serve seemed to surface everywhere. The nominating committee filled every elected position almost immediately. This was something to celebrate and continue with the new pastor.

How could our next pastor enlist, equip, and motivate leaders to continue to carry out the work of the congregation? We first needed to look closely at the components of enlisting, equipping, and motivating. The pastor calling committee rated the ability to recruit volunteers as central to the pastor's position. We had long discussions with pastoral candidates about how they would work with the leadership in engaging the whole church in service.

We learned that enlisting servants in ministry takes preparation. It's easiest for us to work from a list of reliable people—the ones who always say yes and have proven their ability to get the job done. To properly enlist volunteers, however, we need to look at a larger group of possible servants. Recently, a person who wasn't a member of the church filled a key committee role in our church. His skills made him perfect for the role, and it provided a great opportunity for him to get acquainted with others. I wouldn't be surprised to find him in membership class someday!

We learned that a pastor really needs to have passion for an equipping ministry. An equipped servant stays in ministry longer and is much more effective. It's a common experience that when someone begins serving, he or she has no clue about the expectations and responsibilities of the role or what success looks like. Servants must be equipped with clear and detailed ministry position descriptions in order to serve fruitfully.

And we learned that a key to keeping servants in ministry is to keep them motivated. Church leaders and pastors don't always come by the gift of motivation naturally. It's a skill most of us need to learn and practice. Motivation takes many forms. We're motivated when we pray together, when our time commitments are respected, when roles are defined, and when we're listened to, held accountable, and able to laugh together.

As a church, we need to revisit and review on a regular basis how we are enlisting, equipping, and motivating our brothers and sisters in Christ. Finding new and creative ways to do this will result in a growing number of people who want to serve.

In another month our new pastor arrives, and we're looking forward to a new partnership in engaging our members in ministry. Together we need to continue the momentum of people who are willing and ready to serve in ministry, and celebrate the contagious climate that brings new energy to all.

Bill Korte is currently director of Church Ministry Support at Group Publishing.  He's also on the personnel committee of his church and recently served on the call committee to find a new pastor.

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