Over the past few years, as we have been contemplating our business model and what we hope to accomplish, we have come to several realizations. One is that we strongly desire to be within God’s will for our lives and want to be a meaningful part of His kingdom. With this as our guiding principle, we have more clearly defined our “Ministering to Ministers” program and hope to be a true resource to pastors, their families and consequently, their congregations.
Pastors are often tapped by their parishioners as emotional support, counselors, advisors, managers, event planners, church maintenance, arbitrators and social workers; so it is no surprise they find themselves tapped out. Our pastors carry the weight of their congregants’ lives. They hurt for their people, they lose sleep, personal time and energy at all hours of the day and night to be there for their flock.
In a Schaffer Institute study, 70% of pastors regularly consider leaving the ministry due to burnout, emotional health or moral failure. Most pastors simply do not have accountability partners or counselors with whom to vent and share their burdens.
In addition to carrying the collective weight of their congregations’ problems, pain and their spiritual and emotional health, pastors give up much in their personal lives. “Pastoral marriages struggle to succeed, not from lack of knowing how, but from the enormous pressure added to normal married life. Amidst the pressure and lack of time and privacy, pastors must model a godly marriage to their congregations.” (Crosswalk)
Jason has spent years conducting marriage counseling, counseling for families, as well as individual counseling. In essence, he has spent his life preparing for a ministry for ministers. He has joined multiple ministers in their walk and has gained valuable insights into what pastors face.
While we are still in the planning process, we are excited to announce our Ministry for Ministers program – there will be scholarships of varying levels for ministers and their spouses. We look forward to hearing your thoughts and putting our Minister Scholarship Program into practice. Please keep us in mind if you know a pastor who could use some quality downtime in God’s amazing creation with the bonus of having a counselor with whom to share their burdens. We plan to begin taking reservations later this year and open for business summer of 2018!
