Not yet satisfied with our pastorate — but there is progress (Part 2)

Over the past four years, God has healed and strengthened this church through the convictions and decisions that Bob writes about in these articles. Read and be edified—but perhaps more importantly, read and learn!

A year and a half ago, I wrote an article with a similar title, sharing a plan to improve the level and focus of pastoral care that our church pastors should provide to their members. I was convinced that we needed to be more actively involved in the lives of our people if we were to truly say that we «watch over their souls» (Heb. 13:17).

In his book The Shepherd Leader, Tim Whitmer describes two levels of pastoral care: the macro level (preaching, teaching, organizational decisions) and the micro level (personal conversations, discipleship, corporate prayer, etc.). I felt that we were paying enough attention to the macro level, but we needed to strengthen our work at the micro level. So in the first article, I described the steps we planned to take and promised to share the results later.

The results were amazing! Attendance increased by 600%! Donations increased by 850%! Eight new churches! 57 young brothers entered seminary! Two million new Twitter followers!

I'm kidding, of course. But how was it really?

Three practical steps

Our plan consisted of three fundamental elements, followed by practical steps:

1. Together with the pastors, we will once again rethink the essence of the church and our responsibility to care for each of its members.
2. To formulate a clear vision of ministry that includes caring for every person in the flock.
3. Create a pastoral plan based on relationships, not just reactions to problems.

The goal of the final step is to develop a care plan for each member of the congregation so that we know how best to pray for them, encourage them, mentor them, and inform them about ministries, resources, or other people who can help them (or whom they can serve). The pastors readily supported the first two points and immediately set about implementing the third. That’s what we did.

Pastoral care through relationships, not reactions

First, we asked each pastor to contact five members of the church each month. We have a little over 1,000 members. We didn't try to immediately assign people on a "who knows who" basis, although we could swap names if we wanted, based on existing relationships or potential future connections.

At first, everyone tried to contact their people by phone. The pastor introduced himself, explained that we regularly pray for all members of our church, and asked what exactly the person would like us to pray for. Those who answered the call generally responded positively to this initiative. Sometimes the call came in very timely, and the pastor was able to help a person with an urgent need. Other times, the person was caught off guard and had no specific request, although some called back later and did mention something. In total, about 40–50% of our members did not answer the calls or return the calls.

Tangible fruits

Although we were unable to reach all church members, these contacts proved to be extremely valuable.

One obvious result is the increase in personal meetings between pastors and church members. A pastor who doesn’t «smell like the sheep» is not a very good pastor. We have all learned about the daily challenges some of our members face and how one call can open the door to many more conversations.

Another plus is realizing how little some people know about the ministries that operate in our church. It has made us take more seriously how we communicate information to people in the church.

It also served as a reminder to the church itself that each member has a responsibility to pray and care for one another. When the pastors set the tone, I can encourage the church members to follow suit. I encourage members to pray for one another during our meetings, especially on Sundays. Seeing people praying together in the hall after the service or in the corners of the lobby is very inspiring.

Another important thing: as pastors, we constantly remind ourselves that the church is not a set of programs or ministries to administer, but a flock of people to be fed, led, and ministered to.

Invisible fruits

We have also seen fruits that are hard to measure. My wife recently overheard one sister ask another, «Have you had a call from your pastor yet?» And it was said with joy and gratitude. It is a real comfort to the church that we are a clearly defined flock, known and cared for by pastors.

It has also helped the church realize the importance of constantly renewing and updating its membership. I don’t have statistics, but the church seems to be in a healthy state. The members seem to really trust our leadership as pastors. I listen to the questions that come up at membership meetings to try to understand the level of that trust. And so far, my impression is that the church is at peace with its pastors. Our focused efforts to care for each member play a big part in that.

What's next?

So what now?

This year, we are trying to not only deepen our conversations with church members, but also to involve more brothers and sisters in the interaction. We have adjusted the logistics a bit. At the beginning of the year, each pastor was assigned a specific group of people to contact and care for. Each pastor looks for opportunities to connect throughout the year, not just in a particular month. Although we report monthly, our focus is on the entire year.

We have also updated our record-keeping system to make it easier to use. In addition to phone calls and in-person meetings, we reach out to people via email and various instant messaging services. While a personal contact or call is the best option, even a response to an email is something. We not only ask, «How can we pray for you?» but also add, «What spiritual goals do you have in mind, and how can we support you in doing so?» This question opens the door to the hearts of our people.

We are still not satisfied with the level of our pastoral care, but we are truly grateful to God for the progress that has been made. I still feel the challenge of Hebrews 13:17, but the pastors have taken responsibility and the church has become healthier because of it.