By Clint Cook
Looking back over my 29 years of pastoring at one church, I keep trying to evaluate how this feat has been possible. Besides the obvious reasons of the call of God and working with a wonderful church, I believe another reason is what a pastoral mentor told me at the beginning of my pastoral journey: minister conferences and continuing education MUST be a priority. Throughout my 29 years I have attended numerous conferences, denominational-sponsored events, and even some outside of my own denomination. The first conference I ever attended was the General Baptist Minister’s Conference. It is hard to quantify the knowledge, encouragement, and enrichment I have obtained through conferences since then. In my next couple of posts, I want to discuss some reasons why I think attending a minister’s conference is invaluable.
We can not do effective ministry alone.
The first reason for attending a minister’s conference is for the purpose of developing long-term friendships with other pastors. Pastors are engaged in a unique occupation, and no one can truly understand the challenges better than a fellow pastor. My pastor friends automatically understand the burden of ministry; the sacrifice, toll, and cost of ministry upon ourselves and our families; and the joy and the sadness of ministry. I attend minister conferences because I want to do ministry not just with family and church members, but with life-long friends that can come along beside me because they “get” the ups and downs of pastoring. I have found and developed many life-long friendships at the General Baptist Minister’s Conference. You can too.
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To learn more about the Minister’s Conference, go to www.generalbaptist.com or call 573-785-7746
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2 thoughts on “My Secret for Successful Ministry”
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Clint, I certainly can attest to the benefit of the Minister’s Conference in Branson over the years. As a bi-vocational pastor it was difficult to make any other events, but my employer was gracious and understanding to allow me to attend, even if it meant driving back on Thursday night and going to work on Friday one time. It was the one event each year that fed me, encouraged me, blessed me and gave me those contacts of friendship that continue today.
I encourage every pastor to attend. Next to the M&M and Next Level Training, a pastor and his staff can find few events for the cost-benefit that match our Minister’s Conference.
In order to be successful in ministry we have to remember to look at success very differently than the “normal” business world. The world focuses on numbers and material things – whether it’s the budget and income, the number of customers, number of programs or services offered or the size and capacity of buildings. Yes, we need money and people in order for the church bills to be paid – but if we are doing what the Lord requires of us, He will provide for us. Maybe not how or when we want, but in His perfect timing. I believe success in ministry results in transformed lives, in new disciples who go make disciples. When we are seeing lives changed, most likely we will see churches grow and more get planted. In order to see lives transformed we must take every opportunity as ministers and leaders to personally learn and grow spiritually – whether it is a conference, watching or listening to our peers’ messages, reading books, spending time with other believers but most importantly spending as much time in prayer and God’s Word as we can.