We should pray with gratitude when we think of our minister: “Merciful Father, we thank Thee that it pleases Thee by the ministry of men to gather Thy church out of the lost human race to life eternal. We acknowledge the gift of this thy servant, sent to this people as a messenger of Thy peace.” Your minister might not always appear to be a gift. Even then we can trust that God is working his perfect will through him, sometimes in spite of him (Phil 1:15–18).
When Jesus sent out his twelve disciples to minister the gospel he told them how they should conduct themselves as kingdom servants (Matt. 10:5–15). But he also spoke of the responsibility of the people to receive these ministers as his official representatives. Jesus insists that the way people receive his ministers reflects their relationship with God (Matt. 10:40). He invites God’s people to welcome “a prophet in the name of a prophet” and “to receive a righteous man’s reward” (v. 41).
There is no better time to respond to this invitation than when your church receives a new minister. In the denomination in which I serve, the form for ministerial ordination asks the congregation, “Do you, in the name of the Lord, welcome this brother as your pastor?” That’s an important question. But it is just as important to ask, “How will you welcome this brother as your pastor” in order to prepare the way for a fruitful ministry?
- Begin Well with Your Minister
The importance of the first several days, weeks, and months in a new ministry cannot be overstated. A well-worn maxim suggests that it takes years for a congregation to bond with their pastor. Doubtless, this can be true. But does it have to be? Is it not just as likely that a church has a brief window of opportunity to establish the crucial habits that form a beautiful pastoral relationship?
Though most of Paul’s seasons of ministry were brief the believers befriended him quickly (Acts 13:42-44; 16:11-15, 33-34, etc.). After Paul’s longest ministry—just three years—the church and her minister had so connected that, when he left, “they all wept freely, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him, sorrowing…” (Acts 20:37-38). This kind of bond is formed, in part, by the way congregations welcome their ministers actively and early.
Especially if you did not vote in favor of calling your new minister, make every effort to begin your relationship positively. Your reservations will be better handled (down the road) if you establish a healthy rapport with him.
- Befriend Your Minister’s Family
The ministry can be terribly lonely. Perhaps because congregants suspect that ministry families’ calendars overflow with social commitments the minister’s family can receive less care than others. A new minister and his family are outsiders trying to enter a closely-knit network. As counter-intuitive as it sounds, unless your new minister grew up in your congregation, he is a stranger within your midst. He likely has no local connections and no local extended family members. Remember that “The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God” (Lev. 19:34).
- Pray with and for Your Minister
In one of the shortest verses in the Bible, Paul pleads with the church on behalf of himself and all Christian pastors: “Brethren, pray for us” (1 Thess. 5:25). My ordination form admonished my church to “pray that he may, in the power of the Spirit, equip [them] in the work of advancing God’s Kingdom for the honor of Christ our Lord…” Let your minister know that you are praying for him. This habit, one practiced by Paul, (Phil. 1:3, 9; Col. 1:9) assures those for whom you are praying that they are remembered before the throne of grace.
- Communicate with Your Minister
Ironically, ministers can be among the last to know about pastoral needs. When this happens, their ability to fulfill their God-given duties is severely hampered. Paul pleads with his fellow church members to communicate openly and honestly with their shepherds. “We have spoken openly to you … you also be open” (2 Cor. 6:11, 13).
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