As promised, here are some follow up thoughts from my article about how to help churches without pastors. In that article, I suggested that it is likely that you will find yourself in a wider conversation about the need for revitalisation. Whether the conversation starts with an intentional request for this kind of help, or whether it starts with a request for help covering for the lack of a pastor, here are some of the questions I would be asking.
- Tell me a bit about your history. How old is the church? What is its experience of gospel ministry in the area? What kind of reception has it had over the years?
- What is the size of congregation? Has it been growing, plateauing or declining? What is its demographic mix in terms of age ranges? Have you seen births, conversions, baptisms, marriages and how do these compare to the number of funerals?
- What is the demographic of the community around and how has that changed? Is that reflected in the church demographic?
- Who are the current elders/leaders in the church? How long have they served? How were they appointed?
- Have you identified potential future elders/leaders?
- Have people left the church in the past 5 years? How many? When? Where did they go to?
- Did those people, including any previous pastors/leaders give reasons for leaving? Would you be happy for me to approach them to ask their reasons?
- If they left to join other churches did those churches follow up with you?
- Have any new people joined the church in the last five years, both from outside of the church (conversions) and transfers? Are they still with you? If not, how long did they stay?
- Did those who join you give reasons for joining you? If they transferred from other churches, do you know which ones? Do you contact their previous churches when they came?
- Are you aware of any major controversies in the life of the church over doctrinal issues or practice (e.g. style of worship).
- Are you aware of any moral scandal in the church?
- How is the problem of gossip dealt with in your church family?
- What is your statement of faith (I would then talk through this to check understanding and adherence).
- Talk to us about what happens in a typical worship gathering.
- Who is responsible for teaching and preaching?
- What has been covered in terms of preaching and teaching recently? Can I listen to some sample sermons?
- How do you engage with each other outside of Sunday?
- How do you provide pastoral care and discipleship?
- How do you engage with the local community in order to communicate the Gospel?
These are not the only questions that I would ask but these would be important in beginning to open up a conversation. The aim is not just to help me understand what is happening with the particular church but to help them understand what is happening too.
Faithroots 