“Shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28).
A young mother told me at church yesterday, she’s already praying for the girls who will some day marry her four young sons. My guess is that family has a dozen years to wait before their first wedding.
It’s never too early to pray.
I have never known of a church with a pastor who was loved and supported that spent any time praying for its future pastors, but it makes sense. The present guy clearly will not be at that church forever. In due time, the congregation will be forming a search committee for the next shepherd.
Only then will the church members begin asking the Father, “Show us the next leader.”
Where have they been? Didn’t they know how these things work, that one pastor follows another?
What if in next Sunday morning’s offertory prayer, the church prayed, “And Father, we lift to Thy care and direction and guidance the next pastor of this Thy church, no matter who the person is. Prepare them. Protect them. Deepen them. And prepare us for their ministry.”
I know a half-dozen churches of small to medium size presently seeking new pastors. In every case, the fields are “white unto harvest” all around them (John 4:35). They are sitting in the midst of great opportunities for ministry and are set up for a wonderful harvest.
As they have been for years.
For ages, many of these churches have been wishing and hoping and praying to reach their field, but with little effect.
Why so little harvest? Why have they (seemingly) contented themselves with a handful of baptisms each year and miniscule growth and limited ministries when they could have had ten times that?
Mostly, it comes down to leadership.