Church Revitalization: the Art of Pastoral Care

Recently several Middle Baptist Association pastors met with Georgia Baptist Convention missionary Stacy Dyer to hold our quarterly round table discussion on Church revitalization. I appreciate Stacy.  He is a down to earth servant of Christ.  He is approachable and real.  He is also a ministry practitioner.  He has been on the turn-around journey as pastor of Mt. Yonah Baptist in Cleveland, GA.  He has been in the trenches, and God used Stacy to help this congregation thrive.

Here are some of the issues that surfaced in our recent discussion about the pastor's role as a care giver in the congregation:

• This is the area where it is easy to make the biggest ministry mistakes.
• Understand the expectations of the congregation.  Strive to meet needs, but know that there will be critics and those who will never be satisfied.
• Determine a percentage of time that is appropriate for you to commit to member care. This is not just hospital or in home visitation, but developing relationships with members in a variety of contexts so that relationships are intentionally deepened.
• People are gifted differently for ministry.  Not everyone has a gift of showing mercy, but every leader must practice member care.
• Communication is critical.  A pastor has to remain alert to needs.  
• Protect the worship environment.  Some members communicate difficult issues just prior to the pastor's sermon delivery. It is important to regularly remind the congregation that this is a bad practice.  Leaders should be available all week long.  It is never appropriate to unload on a pastor just before he preaches.
• Member care is a shared responsibility.  It should be carried out in small groups, by deacons and by church staff.
• Learn to handle criticism.  Leaders have to have thick skin.
• Remind the congregation that public criticism of a pastor's care-giving can demoralize others, especially guests.
• Remind the congregation that a pastor's responsibility is multifaceted.  He must evangelize the lost as well as caring for the church fellowship.  If all members are not evangelizing, the congregation develops an inward focus and declines.
• The primary task of pastors, according to Acts 6 is the ministry of the Word and prayer.
• Educate and challenge deacons to live out a biblical model for their responsibility.
• Take people with us to do member care so that they are trained and involved.
• Use spiritual gift inventories and personality profiles to assign people to give care.
• Create accountability with leaders through reporting (particularly deacon family ministry) so that you know it's getting done.
• The issue of trust is BIG.  If there is not a history of credible leadership and trust in the office of pastor it has to be earned.  Pastoral care is the place trust is built up.
• Good member care can be learned from those who have patterned it for us admirably.  
• "What are the biggest struggles you face in pastoral care?"
• Staying in touch with people who tend to only want church to be a Sunday and Wednesday event.
• Making hospital visits to people you might not know.
• Passive-aggressive attitudes: not telling you about a ministry need then holding you accountable for responding to what you didn't know about.
• Transferring vision - getting people in Sunday School to follow  up with member care.
• Connecting to Sunday morning only people.  Keeping them from using the AM worship time to unload their wagons.

For discussion at next round table: "Using the invitation time and altar call effectively."  Next Meeting is April 6, 2015 at 10 AM.