Thursday, June 26, 2014
Growing churches hire evangelists, not just pastors
I think every healthy church needs both evangelists and pastors. I believe there is Biblical evidence for churches supporting people in those roles. It is healthy for a church to have shepherds. They may be men who serve as elders, or they may be widows, or they may be parents. They may be older men and women who mentor/teach younger men and women.
Pastors help churches grow spiritually. They help Christians thru the difficult times of sickness and death. They give spiritual advice and counsel for those battling sin and temptation. They help people overcome their sin and failure. They help warn of spiritual dangers.
But I don't think Pastors grow churches. They may keep a church healthy and thriving spiritually. Good pastors may keep a church from losing members. They may be the key to not having a dying church. But they do not grow a church.
Evangelists grow churches. Evangelists do not have to be older and spiritually more mature. Pastors/shepherds do. Every Christian is an evangelist the moment they are born again into the Kingdom of God. Some men and women are gifted evangelists. I believe there is Biblical evidence to support evangelists/missionaries/reachers of the lost.
They grow churches. They lead people to Jesus. They inspire people to talk to friends and neighbors. They help new Christians tell their story to friends and family. And bringing new people to Jesus is how churches grow.
So if you want your church not to die, have lots of pastors.
If you want your church to grow, have lots of evangelists.
If you want your church to be growing and healthy, you better have both.
And most of our churches hire pastors. Very few hire evangelists.
So if you are worried about why your church is not growing ... take a look at where you spend your money. Most of us are spending our staff money on pastors. And not all of them would be pastors as described in Scripture. Nor are many of them evangelists.
But be careful about changing this pattern. If you start hiring evangelists, then you are going to have a lot of new Christians that need shepherding. It would mean that parents will have to take responsibility for the spiritual care of their kids. Church elders would have to meet less and shepherd more instead of letting the staff do it.
But if you really want a growing church...
Pastors help churches grow spiritually. They help Christians thru the difficult times of sickness and death. They give spiritual advice and counsel for those battling sin and temptation. They help people overcome their sin and failure. They help warn of spiritual dangers.
But I don't think Pastors grow churches. They may keep a church healthy and thriving spiritually. Good pastors may keep a church from losing members. They may be the key to not having a dying church. But they do not grow a church.
Evangelists grow churches. Evangelists do not have to be older and spiritually more mature. Pastors/shepherds do. Every Christian is an evangelist the moment they are born again into the Kingdom of God. Some men and women are gifted evangelists. I believe there is Biblical evidence to support evangelists/missionaries/reachers of the lost.
They grow churches. They lead people to Jesus. They inspire people to talk to friends and neighbors. They help new Christians tell their story to friends and family. And bringing new people to Jesus is how churches grow.
So if you want your church not to die, have lots of pastors.
If you want your church to grow, have lots of evangelists.
If you want your church to be growing and healthy, you better have both.
And most of our churches hire pastors. Very few hire evangelists.
So if you are worried about why your church is not growing ... take a look at where you spend your money. Most of us are spending our staff money on pastors. And not all of them would be pastors as described in Scripture. Nor are many of them evangelists.
But be careful about changing this pattern. If you start hiring evangelists, then you are going to have a lot of new Christians that need shepherding. It would mean that parents will have to take responsibility for the spiritual care of their kids. Church elders would have to meet less and shepherd more instead of letting the staff do it.
But if you really want a growing church...
