The Next Future Church Staff Position: Pastor of Community Evangelism
Do you wish you could know the future?
Frankly, I am content with enjoying the blessings of today. I don't need or want to know the future.
But I can see trends emerging and patterns developing. For that reason, I can say that the next new church staff position will be the pastor of community evangelism. For some it will be a full-time position. For others it will be part-time. And still others will have lay volunteers handling this responsibility.
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The title may not be precise, but it will be close. Why am I confident about making this prediction? Allow me to offer five reasons.
1. Local evangelism is not vibrant in most churches.
More churches have done okay with evangelism to "the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). But most churches are pretty bad at reaching "Jerusalem." For that reason, churches will look to someone to lead in local evangelism.
2. Most community ministries are not intentionally evangelistic.
I am grateful more churches are intentional about providing ministries to and in local communities. However, I am concerned many of those ministries are not intentionally evangelistic. One of the roles of the pastor of community evangelism is to make certain all of these ministries are infused with an intentionality to share the gospel.
3. Churches need someone who can coordinate and lead efforts in social media and blogs.
Because of the clear outreach opportunity available on social media, I can see these responsibilities falling under the responsibility of the pastor of community evangelism. This staff person or volunteer will need to understand contextual language of social media.
4. One person is needed to lead evangelistic strategies in the church.
I know of some churches that build their evangelistic strategies around three high attendance days a year. It takes someone with strategic ability and a persistent work ethic to pull off three of these efforts every year. Indeed, any coherent strategy will take a good mind and hard work.
5. Prayer ministries may be a part of these evangelistic strategies.
Most prayer ministries languish in churches because they do not fit neatly in any part of the organizational structure. The pastor of community evangelism could bring prayer ministries into his or her area. It would be a natural and exciting fit.
The church positions in highest demand today are worship pastors followed by children pastors. I anticipate the pastor of community evangelism will be a close third, perhaps even second in the near future.
Originally posted at thomrainer.com.
