Just look at the term “solo pastor” – doesn’t it sound lonely? Loneliness and isolation are two of the most common problems among pastors. It’s Hard to Find Practical Help Keep in mind, I don’t mean, “How do we build a meaningful ministry to singles?” Nope – completely different topic! That’s an issue for other blogs and books dedicated to programming, evangelism and “the emerging relevant church.” I’m talking about ministry-when-the-servant-is-single.

Solo pastors: 8 ways to make the most of limited resources

Part 3 focuses on three aspects of small-church leadership: communication, both verbal and nonverbal; vision and direction; and resource management. Big vision, modest means" is a silent reality churches find difficult to manage. While a church doesn't wish to lower its dreams, it must strategically use the resources God has provided. This means sharpening the focus of the church on its primary resources: spiritual, people, facility, and money. Each of these resources overlaps the others, strengthening or weakening each one. I do not posit that unmarried clergy are better than married clergy, or that either state is more suited to the calling of ministry than the other. The Church needs to affirm the equal role unmarried servant leaders have alongside their married counterparts while also recognizing their unique strengths and weaknesses. No one is better suited to the call of ministry because of their relationship status. The basic truth is we who are called to ministry find our identity first and foremost in Jesus Christ. Get wise regarding your strengths and weaknesses. If you’re really terrible at hospital visits, maybe you can just admit this and persuade someone else to do it. The “woods are full” of good men who have served as solo pastors who are now selling insurance, building homes or working at Home Depot.Here’s one line of evidence for this: health insurance. Twenty-some years ago I was in the process of helping my congregation join a denomination. One of the benefits we thought it would bring us was in providing health insurance for staff members. Before we could get inducted into the group, they had abandoned their health insurance program, permanently. How far will our resources stretch? As with building a building or fighting a war, beginning a new ministry and then running short on resources will lead to failure. Too many failures in a solo-pastor church create a fear of taking future steps of faith. A shortage of resources doesn't close the door on new ministry, but it does mean serious effort must be given to weighing the resource demands and costs. When talking about discipleship, Jesus advised his followers to count the cost. "For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? . . . Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?" (Luke 14:28, 31).

Solo Pastor: Understanding and Overcoming the Challenges of

I’ll start by saying it again: No one will do this for you. No one can do this for you. You are the steward of your own heart, your own health, your own sanity, your own godliness, your own joy. “Choosing joy” isn’t so simple, but a joyful life does involve a choice. Your choice. For you. Pardon my bullet points, but we can only list these today: Solo pastors, whether full- or part-time, lead 56% of American churches, according to the 2015 National Congregations Study by Duke University researchers. In addition to the extreme pressure pastors put on themselves, churches often have overwhelming expectations of their pastor. Thom Rainer writes, “Clearly a pastor will sense the tension of so many factors competing for the limited hours in a week. And clearly no one can ever humanly meet all those expectations.” A pastor often feels pressured to be a preacher, a teacher, a counselor, a shepherd, an evangelist, a leader, an administrator, a CEO, a financial expert, a janitor, a holy person, and a human being. A large church can staff for some of these roles. In a small church, the pastor has fewer people to delegate to, so people expect him to do it all alone (not to mention the unseen things that many pastors do).Investing in your own health will reduce loneliness and stress while creating the opportunity to lead a healthier church,” McIntosh writes. God's Word suggests that faith is best balanced with facts. Proverbs 18:13 is emphatic in this case: "He who gives an answer before he hears, it is folly and shame to him." A paraphrase is more explicit: "What a shame—yes, how stupid!—to decide before knowing the facts!" (TLB). Don't give up on the larger, comprehensive vision, but invest your energy in meeting needs that match your present resources.

The Solo Pastor: Understanding and Overcoming the Challenges

Trying to lead a solo-pastor church like an army is thus a recipe for failure. One has to lead it like a family. Relationship is the key to successfully leading solo-pastor churches. Leading a church alone presents obvious challenges, as well as unexpected opportunities. Gary L. McIntosh examines both in his new book, The Solo Pastor. He presents his material in four parts.It is important to realize that “single” is not the same as “solitary.” Single people serving the Gospel enjoy a variety of meaningful relationships with people, including other singles, married persons, couples and whole families. Real ministry happens within the context of relationships, and single pastors are as capable of experiencing and contributing to relationships as any married clergy might. Years ago, when most of us were single, sailing through that lovely phase of life after dorms and before mortgages, many of my circle were in seminary preparing for the pastorate. Some of us were already working in ministry settings. The running joke was that single/not-dating was a fine situation, even preferable when pressing hard into the MDiv studies. But the day after graduation, be sure to show up at that first church placement married, with two kids, one on the way, and a dog! It seemed people (and search committees) just preferred their pastors married.