New Pastors: Advice for the New Pastors: The what "to do's" and not "to do's" on Day One

[Rev. Charles Moore]

I remeber my first comments on the BPN was under Min. Lockett discussion regarding "My First Sermon." At that time I was like him "An associate minister, faithful, patience, prayerful, hard working, and preparing for the day when God's will would allow me to pastor a church. You hear the discussion all the time, "When I am a Pastor, I will do this and that. We dont covete the position but we see ourselves preparing for the opportunity. Well, my season is here. After prayer/fasting/listening I recently accepted the Letter from a church to Psator. Words can't describe how I have been feeling. I'm careful to request to stay in God's mercy, remain humble, listen twice before speaking once, trying not to fix things that are not broken, (that is another discussion) learning names, praying frequently, and teaching/preaching. Every Pastor who I know has called, emailed, & texted congrats but I'm looking for advice from some of the experience members of BPN to begin a discussion of advice to new Pastors. I would rather learn from others mistakes than make them. School can prepare you but on day one, life experinces re-train you. by the way, all those ideas you had racing through your mind before you became a Pastor seem to exit on day one. I would like to hear your advice to New Pastors. I have always been one to recieve advice and learn from it.

[Pastor Steve Robinson]

Pastor,

Here is one of the biggest mistake a young pastor can make it, to solely believed that it only takes a strong prayer life and a call. The organizational part will play a huge role in your life and the success of your ministry not just a strong word. I have seen many young pastors who are anointed by God, have a genuine call, and have the gift to preach and teach but their organization was poorly put together and therefore their ability to reach people was limited. Here is what I tell all pastors young and old. Hire a lawyer and a CPA before you even start. If possible never touch money, have someone who is compentent to handle your books.

Then find a mentor or father in the Lord who will be a personal covering not just in name or denomination but someone who believes in you and is not afraid to share the TRUTH. Some you respect so that you can APPLY that truth. Believe me these will save you years of frustration.

[Rev. Anthony Luckett]

Pastor Steve and Sister Debbi Smith, great advice. The Pastor must focus on the business side of the church and the organization structure as well. It's very difficult to move a church if those 2 are not in tact. Many will say the church is not a business, therefore they ignore those aspects of operations. How can one be a good steward if they don't know what they are taking in or spending out? I agree, don't touch the money, but be aware of what the church is recieving and spending out. Some from the old school feel like the Pastor shouldn't have anything to do with the money, or business side of the church. Although he or she shouldn't be counting the money, nor depositing it in the bank, they should be aware. If something goes wrong in the church, the bank is not going to say call Deacon so and so, they will want to speak with the Pastor first. And understand that we must obey the laws of the land as well. One may be a preaching and teaching machine, but you still need to surround yourself with good people. I'm not a Pastor, but I know one needs to be led by the spirit and in prayer before they ask a member to be in charge of a ministry, trustee, and especially finance ministry. And if the church can afford computers and software, I recommend getting ACS to manage it's financials.

[Pastor Steve Robinson]

Rev. Luckett,

Great points. Our church is set-up so that two people always count the money, They both must sign the report. The money is put into a bank bag, locked and then deposited. The bag and the key to the bag never travel together. I get a weekly report of what comes in. Our checking account is set up so that it requires two signature to write a cashable check. My signature is always on those checks so I know what's going out. The treasure is not allowed to sign checks only to keep track of the finances. Once a month a detail report is given to me and our Board of Elders from the treasurer.

I disagree about "old school" preacher. The ones I know control everything especially the finances and they never share with their members or their elders about the financial state of the church unless they need more money. We have a yearly meeting with the congregation to let them know where their tithes and offering are spent.

We have had at least a 25% increase in giving for the last 7 years straight. We take ONE offering a week, not 3 in one service or 5 a week, one offering per week. Last year we bought a 2.5 million dollar building taking up one offering a week.

A computer and accounting software should be the absolute minimum investment, it should not be a question of affordability but of wisdom. In the beginning of our ministry we sent one of our members to a Quickbook Class so that she could learn how to accurately do our books. We paid for her time off from her secular job as well as for the classes.

The bible tells us to count the cost and that especially applies to the area of church ministry. A church will never grow past a certain point if these are not a high priority and implemented into ministry.

[Rev. Anthony Luckett]

Yes, Pastor, we operate almost the same. We have a business meeting once a year to let the members know the financial status of the church. We take an offering during sunday school, and 1 offering during worship service on sunday. I was a member of a church some years ago in where they took an offering during sunday school, and 2 during the worship service. And we require to 2 signatures on the checks as well. My Pastor even have left the door open for those who want to know the financial status of the church, to see the finance ministry. But of course you must be a giver. We have sent members to church administration classes in order to effectively manage the church. I was sent to the church technology class, since computers is my profession. We have 3 counters who count the tithes and offerings. We have 3 computers, internet, and email, and 1 printer. The website is coming in the future. We have a church financial secretary and a administrative assistant for my Pastor. the duties are seperate functions by 2 people. At the end of the year each member who has given $50 or more receives a financial statement in the mail. ACS will not produce a statement for those who have given under $50. And the Pastor must teach how important it is to re-invest in the church and it's members. And they must also emphasize that the cheaper route is not always the best way to go. Uncle buck buck may be able to install a furnance or fix the central air, but can he give a warranty, and will he do a professional job in a timely manner?

[Pastor Steve Robinson]

We just renovated our church that we purchased last year. It was built in 1886 and the total square footage is about 15,000 sq. feet. We did have some volunteers but they were professionals in their chosen fields. We spent over $200,000.00 with the renovations and it was all professionally done. I absolutely refused to go the cheap way because in the long run you end up paying for the same thing 2 or 3 times.

We are in the midst of building a brand new website. Every church should have a website. There are several companies that will give churches one for free. The company we use gives churches free site however it is limited but it will give you some exposure. Check out this link:

http://www.advancedministry.com/content.cfm?cid=1011

[Rev. Anthony Luckett]

Pastor Steve, we completed phase 1 of our renovation which consisted of knocking out a wall, painting the basement, and re-doing the sanctuary. We are now in phase 2 which consists of adding a bathroom for the men, renovating the conference room, and the Pastor's office. You can see phase 1 pictures if you look on my page on bpn. We have pretty much outgrown the church already, and at some point will have to go to second service on sunday. My Pastor has also instituted the "catch the vision" campaign which is a fund to either build or buy another building if it's the Lord's will for us. Our current building is paid for, we are debt free church. I wish I was debt free. (lol)

I agree every church should have a website. Last year we invited a guest speaker for our men conference, and the first question he asked was could he go to our website to get an idea of what we were doing as a church. Needless to say, we didn't have one. He still came and spoke though. Some don't see the significance. The church and the pastor need to have email and internet capabilities for correspondence and communication. It's good that I don't have to draft a letter, take it to church, and then wait for the administrative assistant to come in, read it, and then call me back if there are questions. Or if I need to get my pastor information, I can email it to him right away. But I do understand that some churches are not there yet, but they should be striving to do so.

[Rev. Charles Moore]

Brother Lockett/All,
Thanks for all the advice. I'm into my sixth month as Pastor and wow has it been a great experience. We have grown both Spirituality and numerically. It is if the honeymoon is into overtime. We are looking forward to our new 28,000 sf Community Center, which was paid entirely through Grants. As Construction is begining o this project, we were approached in regards to managing a Senior Assistance Living Center. Each project has been meet with eagerness and energy. Technology has been embraced with the addition of our Website and our weekly Podcast.

Every Church with video capabilities should consider broadcasting on Public Access channels through your local cable provider. We began May with a 30 min broadcast and ther response has been positive. It is very affordable and a way to outreach without a large investment.

Vision 2009 is captured in every possible way as we are moving to the next level of ministry. God is proving himself evreyday as lives are being changed and souls are being added to the kingdom.

Please don't stop: Commenting, advising, praying, encouraging,and supporting us as God continues to bless us beyond our expectations.

[Rev. Anthony Luckett]

That's good Rev Moore. We were looking at local broadcasting, but our video man left the church. I pray that the Lord will send us another one.

[Rev. Henderson]

Start and as much as possible end on time. I remember the days I would "wait for more people to come before we start" that was a mistake. The people who wan to be in devotion/ praise will be there. The most important thing I learn was I was unintentionally telling the one who came on time, your time isn't important to me.. Thanks God for wisdom

[Rev. Anthony Luckett]

I agree Rev. Henderson. The first thing my pastor taught me was to start on time. If you say 10, and you have 1 person sitting out there, you start at 10. I've been to some churches where the bulletin says 3 and they don't start until 3:30.

[Napoleon J. Harris V]

i've only been pastoring for about 8-9 months so ifeel your righteous reservations. there is no monolithic answer, because the pastorate as a ministry is not a monolithic experience. the best advice i could lend would be this: get to know the congregation. love the hell out of them especially the hard to love ones, teach the hell out of them, and sho' nuff you gotta preach the hell out of them.

[Rev. Charles Moore]

Bro Harris, it is good to hear from you and congrats as well. As I recieve advice from various sources I realize that these experiences should capture in a format which can be distributed to many. Some of the advice is priceless. Although the fact remains the same as no two churches are alike but people are consistant. I preserving my thoughts, experiences, triumphs, and trials to help others who will soon walk this same path. Please continue to provide advice as iron sharpens iron