Category Archives: Pastoring

Vertical Church - A Story of God's Vision
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September 12, 2018

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Church Growth, Leadership, Pastoring

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The Vertical Church Vision – Faithfulness of God and His People

by Steve Akins – Lead Pastor of Vertical Church in Fort Branch, Indiana.

Vision  noun | vi•sion | \’vi-zhən :  the act or power of imagination; mode of seeing or conceiving

If you would have asked me what vision is in a church several years ago I probably would have quoted a leader like Andy Stanley or Rick Warren, but what I’ve come to learn is that vision is simply listening to what God says and doing exactly what He says to do. That is the story of the relocation of Vertical Church to its new campus.

Sixteen years ago I came to, at that time, the Fort Branch General Baptist Church. It was a congregation in decline. They had been without a pastor for close to two years and the once large congregation had dwindled down to around 100. AS we began the work we sensed that God was up to something. The area was changing and more and more people were moving into the area and the church began to grow. As with any change, difficulties arise. Long-time church members feel threated by the new people, the new worship style, the new attitude and so some began to leave but God was faithful and for everyone one person that left God would bring two and the church continued to grow.

In 2008 we continued to grow and we began to sense that we would need to build one day. We began to pray and talk about what that would look like and what that would entail. Should we stay at our current location or should we relocate? Our current location was landlocked and any idea we had to utilize the land and facilities just wouldn’t work. So relocation was our only option but we had one big problem; There was very little land for sale around Fort Branch in the size we needed. In fact, there was only one piece of property available. As we prayed we sensed that God wanted us to purchase 20 acres and we figured that it would cost us $10,000 an acre since land prices were at a premium. In 2011 we approached the landowner with an offer which they countered and we accepted. We were able to purchase 26.68 acres of land for $199,960. It was a definite God moment as we received 7 more acres more then we needed for less than we originally thought. Talking to the landowner at the closing they said the reason that they brought the price down so much is that we were a church and they wanted to see God’s church flourish. God was with us!

In 2013 We began to meet with Architects to flesh out what was needed for our ministry going forward. Our priority was to build a functional building. We were not looking to build something that would appear on the cover of Architectural Digest but to be a functional, multi-use space. I heard a long time ago that form follows function and so we designed the building spaces to fit the ministry that we would be doing. It was so important to us to get a designer and builder who listened to us and was interested in how we wanted to do ministry.

We broke ground in September 2017 and the building was completed August 1, 2018. On our first Sunday God blew our minds. We had 721 people show up which was 200 more than the previous week and through the first month, we continue to average over 200 people more than the previous month. Our Grand Opening celebration was Sunday, August 26 with 815 people in attendance.

In short, this story is not about me but about the faithfulness of God and the faith of His people.

To God be the Glory, great things He has done!

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Making It On A Pastor's Pay
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April 26, 2018

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Christian Life, Congregrational Ministries, Pastoring

Making It On A Pastor’s Pay

by Franklin Dumond, Director of Congregational Ministries

Four Attempts at Fairness

A prayer on behalf of a pastor was short and direct, “Lord you keep him humble; we’ll keep him poor.” Even if this prayer was never prayed the result in the local church has often been the same. Sometimes the result was never intended but the method to determine fairness was itself the culprit. I have seen four attempts at fairness when it comes to pastor’s salaries. Some are more fair than others.

1. WHAT IS THE AVERAGE INCOME FOR THE CHURCH?

On the surface this seems the most fair since it is based on incomes for the families in the church. Beneath the surface, however, the fairness may be lost if:

  • a) the salary package does not properly account for benefits that are also given to wage earners in the congregation,
  • b) the report from the congregation is incomplete,
  • c) the congregation includes a large number of retirees who have a smaller, retirement income that is adequate to their status as mortgage-free homeowners,
  • d) the pastor is an entry level pastor but the average income is substantially above entry level income. (Here the fairness to the church is lost since they would be paying more than necessary. In the other cases the fairness to the pastor is lost since he is being paid less that should be expected.)

2. WHAT DOES IT COST TO LIVE IN OUR COMMUNITY?

What a church needs to do to make this method work is to find the value of a respectable middle-class home in their area, factor in the pastor’s student debt, loan on the minivan, etc. and then figure out what kind of salary he needs to make to qualify for the mortgage on that home.

3. WHAT CAN WE AFFORD?

While this may be the actual bottom line issue for most churches “What do we choose to afford?” may be the real question. Church budgets should generally allocate 40-65% of income to employee costs.

4. WHAT IS THE PROFESSIONAL EQUIVALENCY IN OUR COMMUNITY?

The suggestion is that a church look at a secular profession that is most similar to pastoral work and pay accordingly. Most of the time this will be the high school classroom teacher. Local school districts will have salary scales developed based on educational level and tenure. So when the church looks up the education level of its pastor along with his years of experience in full time ministry a community-based standard of pay will be in hand. If the pastor manages a number of staff, then pay him as a building principal using the school district salary schedule.

Of all the systems reviewed this one seems most fair to all concerned. All pastors (not just senior pastors) receive a decent middle-class salary that directly compares to salaries being paid in the community. All pastors are compensated in accord with their education and experience with proper benefit packages. Those pastors who pastor larger churches are compensated in line with their expanded responsibilities.

The New Testament calls for fairness in pastoral salaries by insisting that “The worker deserves his wages.” (I Timothy 5:18 NIV) Continue reading →

Let's Celebrate Advent
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November 17, 2016

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Congregrational Ministries, Pastoring

Let’s Celebrate Advent

By Franklin R. Dumond, Congregational Ministries Director

Long before Christmas became a commercial event that began appearing in retail outlets alongside Halloween, the church developed an approach to Christmas that made it a season of anticipation and preparation in the weeks before the holiday.

As a young pastor, I remember struggling with how to fit all the favored carols and all the special programs of Christmas into the one Sunday before December 25 traditionally given to Christmas celebrations in my rural home church. Then I stumbled onto Advent and learned not only the joy of anticipation and celebration, but also the beauty of preparing a congregation for that special time of the year.

When Is Advent?

Advent DatesAdvent is the season marked by the four Sundays before December 25, climaxing with Christmas Day and the wonderful good news, “unto you is born a Savior which is Christ the Lord.”

Many churches mark Advent by using an Advent Wreath composed of greenery and five candles. Artificial greenery is much preferred over live greenery, which may present a fire hazard in the later weeks of Advent. Pillar-type candles give the safest use of candles, as only rarely do they drip or spill.

Lighting the candles one each Sunday allows children to excitedly count the Sundays before Christmas as one candle burns on the First Sunday of Advent, two on the Second Sunday of Advent, three on the Third Sunday of Advent, and four on the Fourth Sunday of Advent to remind everyone that Christmas is almost here!

Many churches will use traditional themes of Advent, but I always enjoyed using Advent to tell the Christmas story in small parts. As a Baptist pastor I always found telling the story of Christmas leading up to the birth of Jesus was well-received by the congregation and a special treat for the children who hurried to the Advent Wreath for the Children’s message. Because I used a nativity set with a variety of figurines, the children could help place one or two figures in the scene each week as we explored the Christmas story.

Two special features easily added to the season could be a Hanging of the Greens service on Sunday evening, December 4. While we never used this event to actually decorate the church, we often used it as a song fest we called “Songs of the Season” with both religious and traditional Christmas music and readings. One of the later Advent evenings also lends itself to “Carols, Candles, and Communion.”

Even if you are not using Advent in your church it is worth using the Sundays of Advent to mention some aspect of the Christmas story. The more often Christmas is connected with the church the more often we are able to develop and reinforce a Christian worldview.

Even worship plans and sermon themes that are not related to Advent can be given an Advent flavor by adjusting an illustration or changing a song title. While some church leaders do not believe Christmas deserves 1/12 of the annual emphasis in a church, others who recognize the overwhelming significance of the Incarnation believe that the message of Advent cannot be restricted to just one month of the year.

Go ahead and cancel Christmas this year but don’t forget to celebrate Advent