How Should I Serve My Church after I Stop Being Its Senior Pastor?

Body

“I’m faced with lots of options: leaving completely, remaining as a staff pastor with a different role, and everything in between. I don’t know what my future will look like, but I do know a few truths that will inform my answer.” - 9 Marks(link is external)

Discussion

Advice for Retiring Pastors

Body

“The questions these pastors have typically revolve around three issues: how do I prepare my church for my retirement?; what are some major financial issues regarding retirement?; and what do I do after I retire?” - Thom Rainer(link is external)

Discussion

A Biblical Plan for Pastoral Succession, Part 2

Read Part 1.

Practical Advice

It’s one thing to put some verses together and present a pastoral succession plan. It’s another thing to carry out this plan. The following distills many authors’ advice on pastoral succession, addressed here to key individuals and groups.

Discussion

A Biblical Plan for Pastoral Succession, Part 1

Every pastor is an interim pastor. Every pastor eventually resigns, retires, or dies. What is your church’s plan to find your next pastor?

Scripture lays the foundation for an ideal pastoral succession plan: the outgoing pastor trains men for ministry, prepares his church for his departure, and, with the church’s approval, appoints one of these men as his successor. If a pastor does not prepare his church for his departure, the church will likely struggle after he leaves. The Bible suggests a better way.

Discussion

Barna: The Pastoral Succession Crisis Is Getting More Complicated

Body

“As of 2022, only 16 percent of Protestant senior pastors are 40 years old or younger, and the average age among pastors is 52. As a generation of clergy ages and prepares to step down, it is not clear that churches are prepared for the transition.” - Barna(link is external)

Discussion

One in Four Pastors Plan to Retire Before 2030

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“The graying of America’s pastors isn’t a new phenomenon, but it has become more pronounced. In 2022, just 16 percent of Protestant senior pastors were 40 years old or younger.” - C.Today(link is external)

Discussion