I came here as a church planter 30 years ago with the intention to stay & not move on. But the Apostle Paul would start new churches and move on after a few weeks or months. In this Sunday’s message, we’ll see him concluding his 2nd missionary journey & beginning his 3rd! That kind of “church planter gift” is unusual. But then again, so is staying put in one place for 3 decades. I’m told that most ministers move every 3 to 7 years or so. But I decided that once I started Southpoint, I would stay put for the sake of stability in my family & to be more effective in growing the church. I’m not leaving yet (though I’m sure some might prefer that!), but as we approach our church’s 30th birthday coming up in just 8 Sundays on Easter, I wanted you to be aware of how blessed we are to have the staff we do for a couple of reasons:
1. Some of our ministry staff have stayed longer than normal. Youth ministers typically stay about 2 years. Mark Essick was hired as a youth minister 15 years ago! Cindy Bobruk’s been on staff for 16 years; Jen Burns for 14 years; Trent Shivley for 11 & Ben Spencer will be here 10 years in June!
Churches often get upset when ministers come & go. It’s tough & feels unsettling. But really, it’s the norm. My first two ministries were short ones. While still in college my first ministry was as a children’s & youth minister on the weekends for just 2 years in a little Indiana rural town. Then I became the preaching minister at another little rural church in Ohio-the first 2 years, just part-time while still in school, & then full-time the last 2 1/2 years. When they hired me, I told them that I wouldn’t stay long because I was going to plant a church somewhere (here!).
We have newer staff as well. 7 have been added just in the past 3 years! But no matter how many “staff” we have, all of us at Southpoint are a team & are needed to do ministry. The staff’s main job is to get everyone involved in serving with their gifts, talents & time–to “equip the saints” for ministry (Ephesians 4).
2. Nearly all of our ministry staff is “homegrown”. The best thing is when a church is strong enough that it can have its own members grow to the point of stepping into ministry staff positions. We only have 3 on staff that we brought in from outside this congregation (Mark, Trent, & Ben). Nearly all of our staff are part-time, but they are dedicated workers. I hope some of you will consider going into part-time or full-time ministry someday, or even going to start a church!