Many are already preparing for the church's most important time together. Get your delegates ready and your members excited with a video tour of the 2016 site. And you can keep up with the latest at umc.org/gc2016.
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Summer in the U.S. can mean road trips, camping, annual conferences and pastoral appointments. UMC.org knows what's on your congregation's mind and has stories to fit the season.
We're getting a new pastor! What can I do?
This time of year many churches face big changes. A pastor who has been there before shares lessons he's learned and easy tips to make things work well right from the start.
READ MOREPhoto by Kimberly Kappel, courtesy Flickr
Planning a wonderful welcome celebration is but one part of a successful pastoral transition.
We’re getting a new pastor! What can I do?
A UMC.org Feature by Joe Iovino*
One Sunday during worship, you notice a visitor who looks vaguely familiar. Suddenly the pastor invites her forward to address the congregation. Now you remember. She is your District Superintendent. Oh no! Why is she here?
A numbness overcomes you as you hear the words. Your pastor is leaving. In several weeks, he will move to a new church. The DS then promises to return soon to introduce you to your new pastor.
United Methodist churches repeat this scene whenever elders are appointed to new churches.
When your #pastor leaves and another arrives, the transition process is the work of the entire congregation. #UMC
TWEET THISWhether you dread losing your beloved pastor or welcome a change in leadership, it feels likeeverything in your church is about to change. While that is not completely true, your congregation will be going through a significant time of pastoral transition.
The Rev. Bob Kaylor leads seminars on Pastoral Transitions for pastors and Pastor/Staff-Parish Relations committee members. Photo courtesy of the Rev. Bob Kaylor.
The Rev. Robert Kaylor, pastor of Tri-Lakes United Methodist Church in Monument, Colorado and author of Your Best Move: Effective Leadership Transitions for the Local Church, points out that there are three phases of transition: ending or leaving, the neutral zone, and new beginning. Each member can participate in every stage.
Saying goodbye
“A lot of times we start running toward the new beginning without doing the leaving well, and saying goodbye well,” Kaylor said.
Saying goodbye to your current pastor may be emotionally challenging, but it is a significant first step in the transition process.
Pray. The first thing you can do is to pray for your current pastor, the new pastor, and your congregation. Surrender your anxiety and trust God to work through the process.
Lend a hand. Soon after the District Superintendent announces that your pastor is leaving, look for ways to be helpful. Your pastor and his/her family will need boxes for the move and might like help packing, taking apart bed frames, or loading the U-Haul. Ask where you might be helpful.
Give an appropriate gift. It may be as simple as a gift card that will help with moving and travel expenses or a picture of a time you shared together.
Attend the farewell. Take time to celebrate this season of pastoral leadership as it ends. Eat, laugh, cry, celebrate, and tell stories with your congregation. Don’t miss out on this important time.
Click to listen: Pastoral transitions are anxiety-filled times. The Rev. Bob Kaylor shares how he confessed his anxiety to a congregation and how it helped them grow together.
Say a personal goodbye. “For me, as a pastor,” Kaylor said, “one of the things I really have appreciated was when people took the time to sit down and write a note, expressing their appreciation for that time in ministry together.” He continued, “I keep those with me as I move to the new place… There’s no greater gift than that."
“As a parishioner,” Kaylor continued, “I want to bless the pastor on his or her way out.” When we say goodbye well, “it not only helps the pastor, it helps me emotionally and spiritually make that transition; to say this has ended and now I'm looking forward to a new pastoral leader.”
The neutral zone
After saying goodbye well, your congregation may have a week or two “between pastors.” This is a good time for the church to catch its breath, and for everyone to continue helping with the transition.
Help get ready. As you await the arrival of your new pastor, your church may hold a painting party at the parsonage. Jump in. Participating in the preparations is an investment in the successful ministry of your new pastor.
Your Best Move, the Rev. Bob Kaylor's book and seminar, leads congregation leaders through a proven process of pastoral transition. Photo courtesy of Seedbed Publishing.
Learn about the incoming pastor. Your church will probably post a profile of your new pastor and his/her family on the church website. Be sure to read it. In addition to the fun stuff, look for “the pastor’s heart,” Kaylor said. “What is the pastor really passionate about? What are the things I might have questions about in terms of the pastor's story?”
“It's not just looking at the resume. It is finding what it is that makes this person tick. How has God uniquely gifted them? Looking for those points of connection,” he said.
Saying hello
After participating in the ending phase and neutral zone, you are now ready to welcome your new pastoral leader.
Go to church that first Sunday. Invest in the continued success of your congregation by supporting your new pastor from the very start.
Give a good gift. Welcome your pastor not only to your congregation but also to your town. A gift card to your favorite business, restaurant, or local home improvement store will be welcome, and helps the pastor and family get to know your community.
Give space. Pastors and their families have a lot to do when they first arrive—unpacking boxes, getting the kids signed up for school, finding a new doctor, and so much more. This might not be the best time to drop by the office or parsonage.
Take the initiative. Attend a meet-and-greet, join the pastor’s Bible study, or invite her/him to coffee. "Make the effort to get to know the pastor,” Kaylor said, “because he or she is not going to have time to invest in every single parishioner—particularly in a large church—in the way that they would like to. So take the initiative to go be with the pastor… That's really, really critical."
Click to listen: The Rev. Bob Kaylor shares how a member of his first church on his first Sunday helped him understand his role as the pastor of a congregation for a season.
Resist quick judgements. Stressed, tired, nervous, uncertain, worried—your new pastor is feeling all of this and more. Look “beyond first impressions because sometimes that first impression can be difficult,” Kaylor said. “Extending grace…is absolutely critical, and saying we're going to give this time and we're going to really invest in getting to know this pastor and so learn how we can be in ministry together."
Expect the best. Things are changing. This is a new season in ministry. “Ask yourself as a congregation member,” Kaylor said, “What gifts do I have that I can invest in the success of this new season of ministry?”
That is always the goal. We strive for the success of our ministry together as pastor and congregation, so that, as our welcome of new members concludes, “in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.”
*Joe Iovino works for UMC.org at United Methodist Communications. Contact him at jiovino@umcom.org or 615-312-3733.
Church camps combine faith and fun
Did you know The United Methodist Church offers 220 camp and retreat centers, serving a million people a year? Find resources and info your members might enjoy.
READ MOREPhoto by Ronny Perry, UMNS.
Will Penner leads a gospel song during worship at Cedar Crest Camp in Lyles, Tenn.
Church camps combine faith and fun
When it comes to eating s'mores under starry skies and singing songs around a campfire, little has changed over the years. There's still no place like summer camp.
The United Methodist Church has a great commitment to camping. The denomination offers one of the largest camp and retreat networks, with 220 centers serving a million people a year.
Resources
- Find a camp or retreat center
- The camp and retreat leader network
- 7 Foundations of United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministries
- Camp Life reaches out to Baltimore youth
- UMCOR gives Gaza kids a break from conflict
- Camp opens doors for seriously ill kids
- Churches’ math and literacy camps a hit
- Just Save One: Help the Global AIDS Fund
- Native American youth to benefit from camp
- Lazarus Project offers military families refuge
- HIV camp gives dose of God’s love
UMTV: Church Hosts Traveling Wesleys
John and Charles Wesley have been on the road too. Paper dolls of the brothers are visiting churches and this short video captures some of the fun, and learning, when the Wesleys drop by.
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Looking ahead: Back‑to‑School Season
Students and Schools
Soon it will be time to plan for Back-to-School liturgies or services. Get good ideas and more information on our UMC.org topic page about Education.
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Featured Topic: Education
USEFUL LINKS
- Back to School resources
- Higher Education and Ministry
- United Methodist Schools
- Donate to Education Projects
There are many ways church members can become more informed, more involved, and also advocate for schools and families. Below you will find practical ideas and tips, as well as worship resources to help you in this important ministry.
Worship Resources and Prayer
UMC Beliefs: Education
- Social Principles: Education
- The Right of All to Quality Education
- Public Education and the Church
- Education: The Gift of Hope
- Equity in Access to High School Education
- Rethink Church: Education Matters
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The secret to faith after high school? Parents!
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Students find a place in campus ministry
Thousands of young adults discover 'a home away from home' at United Methodist collegiate ministries. Read MoreThe secret to faith after high school?
Worried about kids heading to college, and heading away from church? Youth leaders share tips to make home a stronger spiritual base.
READ MOREPhoto by Mike DuBose, United Methodist Communications
Young adults whose parents shared the importance of their faith are far more likely to continue in church. Members of the Bonn family pray together for the Ebola crisis in West Africa during a 2014 worship service in Franklin, TN.
The secret to faith after high school? Parents!
A UMC.org Feature by Joe Iovino*
Many youth in the U.S. who regularly attend worship, go on summer mission trips, sing in theyouth choir, and actively participate in the youth ministry of their United Methodist congregations, drop out of church after high school graduation. In 2006, the Barna group reported that only 1-in-5 maintains a similar level of church participation in their 20s.
The Rev. Daniel Dennison pastors students at the University of Oklahoma. Photo courtesy of the Rev. Daniel Dennison.
The Rev. Daniel Dennison, Wesley Campus Minister at the University of Oklahoma, has noticed the difference a maturing faith makes in the lives of high school graduates.
“The students who come to us that have been discipled and taught how to have a growing relationship with Christ while on their own, generally thrive in college,” he said. “They [appear to] do better in school; they are more well-adjusted and become stronger leaders in our ministry.”
Many others “fall away from the church altogether,” he added. “Some continue to stay involved, but it’s nominally and surface level.”
This is distressing news to pastors, youth leaders, and parents who long to keep young people engaged in their faith.
Parents’ faith is key
The National Study on Youth and Religion recently found a factor that is “nearly deterministic” in turning this around. Eight out of ten (82%) young adults ages 24-29 who were still participating in their faith after being active in high school, had one thing in common.
The secret? Their parents.
Youth leaders agree. “Parents are the critical discipler, period,” said Seth Martin, Lead Student Pastor at Faithbridge United Methodist Church in Spring, Texas. “Student ministries aren't (or shouldn't be, rather) the primary spiritual mentors of students, but should instead subsidize thediscipleship already taking place in the home.”
"Parents are the critical discipler, period.” #Parents strong influence on faith of their children. #UMC #youthmin
TWEET THISMany youth ministers are encouraging parents in their critical role in the spiritual development of their teenage children.
Stephen Ingram thoroughly enjoys ministry to youth and their families. Photo courtesy of Stephen Ingram.
“Every chance I get to talk to parents,” said Stephen Ingram, Director of Student Ministries at Canterbury United Methodist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, “I remind them of the stats.”
But not all parents feel prepared to spiritually mentor their kids. That’s why, Ingram said, “the best youth ministries work in partnership with parents.”
United Methodist Communications spoke with several youth ministry leaders about what they are sharing with parents.
Deeper parent-youth communication
The study found that youth who remained active regularly had faith conversations with their parents.
Often the extent of parent-youth spiritual discussions happen on the ride home from church. “How was church (or youth group, Sunday school, small group, etc.)?” the parent asks. “Good,” is the monosyllabic response.
Casey Walker, Minister to Youth and their Families at Searcy (Arkansas) First United Methodist Church, saw something similar following a youth trip. “I noticed not a lot of conversations were happening at home,” she said. “The youth didn't know how to put words together to express what they had experienced, and parents were not sure how to ask good questions.”
Walker invited parents to a gathering where she shared some tips for starting spiritual conversations with their youth.
Ingram encourages parents to avoid questions that can be answered with one word. He teaches parents to facilitate discussions. Parents don’t need to be experts with all the answers. They just need to be willing to journey and question along with their children.
Casey Walker (r) began helping parents and youth have deeper conversations following an impactful student ministry trip. Photo courtesy of Casey Walker.
Some great places to start are talking about Sunday’s sermon; including faith when discussing something in the news; or asking about the youth group lesson.
Martin emails parents in his youth ministry “Followups,” which are overviews of the youth lesson that contain “Scripture and a few basic questions to enable parents' conversations with their students to be a bit more targeted.”
Without a tool like “Followups,” parents can ask their children what they liked best about the lesson, or what challenged them.
Parental support
In addition to education opportunities, Walker’s youth ministry has formed several discipleship groups for parents of youth. They “intentionally put parents of 6th graders in groups with parents of seniors to encourage one another.”
Faithbridge also holds educational workshops that “pull parents together … and connect them with sharp people who can inspire, equip, and challenge parents to engage on a given topic,” Martin said. These two-hour dinner gatherings also connect parents who might not otherwise meet.
Parents are strengthened by the support of others who have teenage children.
Walker wants parents to know, “You’re not alone. Parenting is tough and there are others to journey with you.”
“You’re not alone. #Parenting is tough and there are others to journey with you.” #UMC #youthmin
TWEET THIS
Seth Martin passionately equips parents for the role of discipling their teenage children. Photo courtesy of Seth Martin.
A spiritual journey for the family
Parents sharing the importance of their faith with their teenage children was named by the study as an important factor.
Ingram, who is also the Director of Whole Family Spirituality at Canterbury United Methodist Church, helps parents by holding an annual Whole Family Spirituality Retreat. The retreat seeks to “help families think about and practice being an intentionally spiritual unit,” Ingram said.
He encourages families to think theologically together. Some might discuss a devotion over dinner while others might talk through the highs and lows of their day.
The goal of this time together, Ingram says, “is not so much how to deal with X, but what you think about X, and what our faith teaches us about it.”
Start small
Ingram said it is wise for parents to begin by taking “baby steps.” Walker agrees and encourages parents to persevere.
When she first wanted to start praying a blessing over her daughter every night, Walker was hesitant. “She’s going to think I’m crazy,” she thought.
After a few nights of discomfort, things changed. Her daughter wanted to know more about the blessing. “Show me where [in the Bible] it came from,” she asked.
“Now, when I’m out of town,” Walker said, “she will call and ask me to give her the blessing over the phone before she goes to bed.”
A matter of influence
While involvement in youth ministry is a valuable experience, “Nobody has the influence, exposure time, authority (or even biblical command/expectation) to raise up students like the parent does,” said Martin.
“After youth group,” Walker said, “parents are still there, for the rest of their lives.”
*Joe Iovino works for UMC.org at United Methodist Communications. Contact him atjiovino@umcom.org or 615-312-3733.
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