I’d like to take a moment to discuss something extremely important for all our churches. You know, like how a team needs to practice to play well, our church leaders need to learn and get better at what they do. This is something we really need to focus on right now.
Think about it like this: After COVID, a lot of things changed. It was like someone shook up our snow globe, and now all the glitter is falling in new ways. Churches are different, people are different, and what worked before might not work so well now. Because of this, it’s super important that the people leading our churches know how to guide us in these new times.
Who am I talking about when I say “church leaders“? I mean everyone! Our pastors, who tell us about God’s love. Our youth leaders, who hang out with our teenagers and help them grow. Our children’s teachers, who teach our little ones about Jesus. Our deacons, who help things run smoothly. And really, anyone who helps out and shows the way in our church family. Every single one of them needs good training.
Why is this so important? Well, imagine you want to build a really cool treehouse. You wouldn’t just grab some wood and nails and hope for the best, right? You’d want to learn how to build it strong and safe. It’s the same with our churches. We want our churches to be strong, loving places where everyone feels welcome, where people come to faith and the baptistry is used regularyly, and people are discipled. For that to happen, our leaders need to know how to lead well.
Here’s another big reason why this is so important right now: Many of our wonderful, experienced pastors and leaders are getting ready to retire. Think about all the pastors, teachers, and volunteers who have served our churches faithfully for so many years. In the next few years, a significant number of them will be stepping down. The problem isn’t older pastors, yet the problem is a small and shrinking pipeline of younger pastors. This is a natural part of life, but it also means we need to be ready to have new people step up and lead. We need to make sure these new leaders are trained and ready to go!
Sometimes, we think, “Oh, they’ve been doing it for a long time, they probably know everything.” But just like doctors go to classes to learn about new medicines, or teachers learn new ways to help kids read, our church leaders need to keep learning too. The world keeps changing, and we need to make sure our churches are ready for those changes.
Think about our kids and teenagers. Their world is full of new apps, new ways to talk to each other, and new ideas. Our youth and children’s leaders need to understand this so they can connect with them and share God’s word in ways that make sense to them. It’s not always easy, and it takes special skills.
And our pastors? They have a big job! They need to preach, visit people who are sick, help families, and sometimes even fix the leaky faucet! They need help learning how to do all these things well, and how to take care of themselves so they don’t get too tired.
Good training isn’t just about learning new things; it’s also about feeling confident and ready for whatever comes next. When our leaders feel strong and prepared, it makes our whole church strong and prepared. It helps them listen better, understand people’s feelings, and share God’s message in a way that truly helps.
So, what can we do? As an Association of churches, we can work together. We can find good teachers and good programs that can help our leaders grow. We can share what we know with each other. Maybe one church has a great way of training their children’s teachers, and another church has a wonderful program for new deacons. We can learn from each other!
I believe that if we put our minds and hearts into this, we can make a huge difference. When we invest in our leaders, we are really investing in the future of our churches. We are making sure that our churches continue to be bright lights in our communities, helping people find hope and love.
Let’s all think about how we can support the leaders in our churches. Let’s pray for them, encourage them, and find ways to help them get the training they need. Because when our leaders are strong, our churches are strong, and that’s a wonderful thing for everyone.
So practically, what can we do?
- I want to encourage and challenge each individual church to lean toward a desire and action of training and giving practical experience to the next Sunday school teacher, youth worker, kid’s ministry worker, and the individual being called to vocational ministry. There is a saying that I have heard, “Eagles are going to fly”. In other words, leaders are going to lead, whether that is at your church, they go to another church, or they get frustrated and leave all together.
- We are constantly offering different training opportunities at Neuse Baptist Association. The simple truth is, we exist to serve, resource, and encourage you. Ten months out of the year we have Pastor Lunch and Learns. One to two times a year we offer deacon trainings. By the way the next one is slated for September 6th from 9am-12pm. A couple of months ago we offered a youth leaders training. The leadership team is putting together a proposal to help and encourage leaders and potential leaders in our churches with certificate programs at Fruitland Baptist Bible College and Southeastern Baptist Theological. We do individual church trainings for specific needs.
My friends, we are in this together.
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