First Baptist Church in West Monroe (First West) is a great church that has served North Louisiana well for a long time. A year ago they asked their student pastor, Michael Wood, to serve as their senior pastor. Not only were the people convinced of his character, as they watched his life for several years, but Michael is a great teacher and a strong leader with a passion for the Lord and people (full disclosure: My niece served on his team in the student ministry and still serves on staff there. She and others rave about his leadership in both contexts). Michael is just one example of a student pastor transitioning to a senior pastor.
When leaders or search teams have asked me if a student ministry pastor can transition to a senior pastor role, I always respond with, “Absolutely.”
My response is predicated on the understanding that the person is already a qualified pastor (1 Timothy 3) and that pastoring in student ministry is not a mere stepping stone to being a “real pastor.” Student pastors are real pastors. My response is not to diminish the challenges of the transition or to lower the expectations of the senior pastor role but to highlight the transferrable parts of being an effective student pastor with being an effective senior pastor. And a lot transfers. Much carries over. Keep reading
Photo credit: lincolnbuilders.com
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