Yesterday, the congregation is installed as a church pastor (sounds like something you do in the dishwasher, doesn’t it?) There were prayers, hugs, smiles, music, food, photos and now it’s Monday you start?You know you have to prepare excellent sermons, make disciples and evangelize, but how do you really start?What should you do on the first day?
In a way, you shouldn’t do anything at all, no, don’t stay home watching football, don’t think you need to change everything in three months, you can have the title, but the position of pastor won and granted. There’s a lot to learn about your church before you start making changes. In addition, Christ promised that He would build his church. You don’t have to try to grow up.
With that in mind, here are five priorities you should take to your first day of ministry.
Priority 1? Learn as much as you can about your sheep (Implications?1 Peter 5. 1-4).
You’re a shepherd. Good shepherds are so close to their sheep that they smell like sheep and know them by name. Tips: Read the minutes of previous administrative meetings. Learn as much as you can about founding the church. What was the original doctrinal statement?If so, why, has the church ever been divided, is there an unresolved problem?
Get familiar with the “veterans. ” They can help you very well. Ask them about traditions, stories, policies, etc. Develop questions to ask each member of the congregation to assess their spiritual health. The involvement you gain and the confidence you gain can be even more valuable. than the information it collects.
Priority 2? Spend time with your leaders (humility? Philippians 2. 5-8).
Tips: Visit your managers in your workplace. Learn about their families, history, gifts, and leadership strengths. Ask them the questions you plan to ask the congregation. Ask them why you can pray and how you can best serve the church. assessment of the health of the congregation. Have a list of books ready to suggest you read. Plan a retreat with them to learn more about them and about them. Tell them what you hope to learn about the congregation. Discuss the story with them, what events should be held? Share your evangelization conversations. Send them emails every day.
Serving your leaders will serve as a model for how to serve the church. The first people you need to train are your leaders. They’ll teach you, too.
Priority 3? Plan your preaching (God’s means of growth?Romans 10:17)
Faithfully explaining and applying the scriptures will have more impact on your church than anything you can do. Preaching is your number one priority, but here it is listed as number 3 because of the progress of the thread of thought. The information you collect will influence your preaching plan.
Since the Gospel is fundamental to worship, evangelization, discipleship, conflict resolution, marriages, and all other situations facing your church, consider a first series of presentations of the Gospel of Mark or 1 John. Be prepared each time you preach and preach excellent sermons.
Priority 4? Meet people who aren’t in your church (think of others?Philippians 2. 4).
Meeting with pastors from the region. They can give you your impressions about your church and information about the community. Consider praying publicly for this pastor and his church the following Sunday.
What changes are happening in the community?What are the needs you see?Can your church do anything?
Visit the neighbors. Introduce yourself to the people around you. It’s amazing how much you can learn and you can still gain a lot of the confidence you need.
While the information you collect from these people is useful, your research will also provide opportunities for evangelization.
Priority 5? Plant a fruit tree (or garden) (Loyalty? 1 Corinthians 4. 2).
Things that produce fruits need time and culture, and watching a tree grow will remind you. You started a marathon; Keep up.
Examples:
A pastor proposed an ambitious plan in his first two months to grow the church through an aggressive outreach strategy: moving to a more visible place and getting rid of the schedule of exhausted and useless ministries Nothing he proposed was wrong, but without gaining the confidence to lead, he left at nine months. Behind him was a fractured herd, wounded and punished.
Another pastor said he didn’t want to make any changes for a year until he learned as much as he could about people. Now, fourteen years later, he had guided them through many changes that were achieved by their public fidelity in the pulpit and, privately in personal ministry.
James Boice once said we usually overestimate what we can do in a year, but we underestimate what can be done in ten. If you are a new pastor, now set priorities that, by the grace of God, will bear fruit in ten years.