InternationalMinister.com

Transition in International Congregations

One of the more difficult challenges for pastors and staff in international congregations is the frequent transition of members and attendees.  When members are at ministry, congregation or house church for a year or two, programming and even worship can be difficult.  From my experience one of the first and foremost falsehoods is:

Assume everyone you ask to serve will stick it out automatically … False! 

People stay in the game because they feel needed and valuable.  An experienced pastor or staff person is the one who can keep the vision and purpose before volunteers at churches and congregations as they go about doing ministry that God has equipped them to do.  It is the responsibility of pastors and staff to provide ongoing training and support. We must reinforce their job descriptions and its boundaries.  Good questions to ask are: “How can I better support you?  How can I make things easier for you?  What tools do you need?” 

We cannot “solve” the frequent transition of members and attendees in international congregations.  But we can make the transitions easier as pastors and staff when we drop the falsehood of assuming during their time with us that they will stay.  Yet, on the other hand, we do not want to be pushing them out the door.  Instead we practice better leadership by keeping the vision before us and stand ready to support our volunteers.  Remember that if volunteers have had a good experience in our ministries, congregations and churches, they will be able to better utilize their gifts to God’s glory in their future ministry homes.