Church Care
Throughout rural America we are seeing an entire generation, for the most part, ignored by Christian denominations and church planters. In many cases, there are two major reasons. First, as liberal mainline denominations are bleeding out, they have become desperate to pull back to secure their economic positions. This combined with the rapid and growing shortage of pastors and seminarians has caused Christianity in vast areas throughout America to become almost extinct. According to a study done by the Barnabas Conference over the last 4 years, churches in towns of 2,000 or less in the states of Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Kansas only have around 25% of their churches staffed with a full-time pastor. Many others are staffed with a retired pastor or a pastor who drives over an hour to reach the congregation.
Churches without a Pastor
If you are a leader or on a board of a church struggling without a pastor, the Barnabas Conference and Network is here to help. Wherever you are you are not alone. Before we go any farther, thank you for keeping your church open and for caring for the community where you are at. There is often much hurt and pain associated with not being able to find a pastor or not being able to afford a pastor in this increasingly expensive world in which we live. We can help in a few different ways. First, contact us. We will began praying for you and your community. Second, we can often send a Conference leader to visit your church who will spend time to build your trust and can begin to care for any immediate spiritual needs. Third, we can began to walk with you in developing a plan to either connect you with a Circuit Rider, help you find a pastor, or help equip a local leader to lead the church.