Churches Without Pastors
This week we attended a friend’s ordination and induction at the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland (Sydney congregation in Riverstone). The church had been without a resident pastor for over 30 years, so you could definitely feel the weight of the occasion! It was appropriately solemn, yet also a joyous celebration.
We marvelled at God’s providence in preserving His church, and in blessing them with a man who is equipped with the Word and called to Gospel ministry.
At the same time, I wonder how many other Australian congregations are without pastors? I have not yet found statistics on this, but we’ve met others from regional areas who have not had a pastor for years. In these cases, either there is no suitable church or their church is unable to support a pastor. Believers resort to downloading sermons or holding worship services at home. These are sincere Christians without an under-shepherd.
One reason I work in Sydney is because of the influx of people here. But how can we help the regional areas and churches without pastors? Perhaps it’s an opportunity for the return of itinerant preachers.
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I heard somewhere that over 300 churches in Australia are without pastors and another 30 or so pastors are quitting each year with only around 12 new pastors taking their place. Sad statistics.
Praise God for this new pastor and this faithful church who’ve waited for so long for a pastor of their own! Thanks for sharing! =)
It would be great to verify those numbers … I guess it’s harder to gather stats from independent churches. :)
churches can struggle to embrace leadership if it has been absent for so long
men can also be reluctant to lead if there is no proper remuneration
perhaps some churches need to think about whether they can properly function year after year without the leadership that is fairly clearly laid out in Scripture
agreed … no doubt some churches are leaderless because they virtually prefer it that way.
Most churches are naturally focused on developing its own leadership, but we could also reach out to remote churches / groups as a mission work. Maybe if each healthy church partnered with one regional church for prayer and an occasional event. Just thinking out loud.
Wow. I do like the itinerant preacher idea. If several churches were banding together financially, they could support an itinerant pastor…