[Case Study] How Pastor Randy Nearly Quit the Ministry
Like most people in ministry, Pastor Randy had a huge heart for the Kingdom. In fact, he was so passionate about ministry, that at age 50, he decided to plant a church 1,200 miles from his current home. That was a bold step to say the least.
Randy did all the normal stuff pastors do these days when starting a church. He attended some of the church planting meetings put on by a variety of organizations, and he built a core team ready to work with him. He raised money, did canvassing, pushed hard and launched the church.
The first year of the church’s existence yielded solid growth. They reached their community in new ways, and they had great excitement about everything they did as a church.
As the second year approached, the growth gradually slowed. By the third year, the growth came to a screeching halt. They had not declined at that moment, but they were no longer growing – not just numerically (although that was a part of it), but also in maturity as a Body.
It was the first time that Pastor Randy really felt stuck. At this point, he was 53 years old, and he began to question his decision to start this church in the first place. The stakes were high. The stress built. What did he miss? Where did he go wrong?
When the Rubber Meets the Road
Randy internalized the struggle he felt, and he grew very unhealthy. He was spiritually struggling, even questioning the “call” to ministry. His time with God felt dry. He also became physically out-of-shape, gaining more weight than he should. All the while, he put on his Sunday smile and hoped things would eventually change.
But they didn’t…
In fact, things progressively worsened. The church felt stagnant, and Pastor Randy had worn out. He began to battle the mental game. For the first time, he actually thought he might need to resign from the church if he didn’t see it turn around.
He started to process how he’d communicate this to the church board. It would be such a hard decision to make, but he didn’t think he was the man for the job anymore. He had no choice.
However, before presenting this reality to the board, he decided to give it one last effort to see the church ignited once again.
He reached out to his mentor, a 70-something man of God who had invested in Pastor Randy over the years. Upon explaining the situation to his mentor, this gentleman immediately flipped the question back on Randy and asked him, “Randy, how much have YOU grown this past year?”
He fumbled around for an anemic answer. Honestly, Randy didn’t have a great answer for it. In reality, he had not continued the personal investment. Then, his mentor proceeded to say:
“Well, I’m going to tell you this. Unless you personally are growing, and you can tell you’re growing, how dare you expect the church to grow. You need to check yourself first. How are YOU growing?”
The Beginning of a New Era
That conversation started Randy on a journey to begin strategically growing personally. He realized he had not made the intentional effort needed for healthy ministry.
In the following year, he made a conscious decision to grow. He listened to more than 200 leadership podcasts, attended conferences, and read books. He also joined the Leaders.Church membership, carving out just 15 minutes once a week to invest in himself at a level he’d never done before.
After being intentional about growing personally, literally everything began to change. The church had a major turn-around, becoming healthier than ever before. The atmosphere on Sundays was unlike anything he had seen before.
The church began to grow in maturity, and they grew numerically, too. They began to see new, visiting families every single week, and the buzz in the community spread.
Pastor Randy also had a personal transformation. He became more dialed in as a leader. He was forward-planned like never before. His sermons came easier and they got better (even after years of preaching). He led the team better and they all grew as stronger leaders.
He even had renewed enthusiasm to exercise, and he began to lose weight again. The stress was still there to a degree, but he handled it differently (and better).
He went from nearly quitting ministry to leading a thriving ministry. It all started when he got really honest with himself and said, “I need to grow personally and NOT blame others for my poor leadership. I’m the problem. I need to change. I need to get better.”
He looked in the mirror, then took action. His intentional effort to get better as a pastor and leader through Leaders.Church propelled him and the church forward.
A Winning Mindset
Pastor Randy shifted his mindset and realized he couldn’t just hope the church would grow (or hope that he’d grow). He had to do his part. As a result, years later he’s still leading a thriving ministry that’s impacting his community.
When pastors start with themselves, taking extreme ownership, focusing on what they can control and what they can change, that’s what positions churches to reach more and more people.
In reality, growing churches are led by growing pastors.
Whether you’re new to ministry or a seasoned pastor like Randy, you need to invest in yourself on a consistent basis. This is the key to a growing, healthy ministry.
That’s where the Leaders.Church membership can help you. This all-in-one place to access 300+ videos (along with discussion guides, transcripts, sample church documents, and more) will not only help you grow as a ministry leader; it will help your team grow, as well.
Since 92% of pastors say Leaders.Church has increased their leadership capacity, you have the potential of seeing everyone on your leadership team operating at entirely new levels.
If you want to experience that, then we encourage you to walk the path Randy walked after he gave up his hope strategy for growth. One step at a time will prove to be the key to growing your leadership, and in turn, advancing the mission to reach spiritually lost people with the Gospel.
Would you like that?
Go here to explore membership plans to see which is best for you.
We believe the greatest days are still ahead for you and the ministry. God has more He wants to do through you. The question is, are you willing to do what it takes to go to the next level? If so, we look forward to seeing you inside the Leaders.Church membership.
