January 1, 2026
With careful planning, clear communication, financial foresight, and sensitivity to personalities, churches can not only survive transitions, they can thrive through them.
January 1, 2026
If you’ve spent your career walking with Jesus, your last days should be your best days, not your worst. Jesus’ last moments before his death were spent pouring himself completely out for us.
January 1, 2026
Few churches handle lead minister succession well, but there are four steps for an effective succession PLAN (Prepare, Look Ahead, Assess, Navigate).
January 1, 2026
Perhaps the greatest single benefit of succession success is that when it works, succession success honors God and results in positive momentum in the church as well as in the larger community.
January 1, 2026
Over time I learned that, while emotions shouldn’t be the dominant voice in my life, understanding them is a wise choice for my life.
November 5, 2025
A sermon should be long enough to adequately exegete and apply the main point of the passage, but short enough to leave mature Christians willing to listen a few minutes longer.
January 1, 2023
First Christian in Kernersville, N.C., is changing its name to The Crossing on Jan. 1. In August, Eddie Schmidt will take over for founding pastor Pete Kunkle, who will become CEO of HASTEN International.
August 22, 2019
By Chris Moon Reclaim Christian Church in Ansonia, Connecticut, is living up to its name. The church last fall moved into its new sanctuary space after doubling the size of its building. Since then, Reclaim has seen its average attendance grow by more than 25 percent—and that after the church had grown steadily for nearly a decade. It’s God’s reclamation project, which is just how lead pastor Breandan McTighe likes it. “Taking something that is old, which is who we were, and something that is beaten down and tattered and weathered and has the markings of past pains and hurts—and
May 21, 2019
Pastor steps down after 28 year at Longmont, Colorado, church to lead Spire By Chris Moon “I’m not a hugger,” Rick Rusaw told Christian Standard as he was preparing for his last weekend as pastor with LifeBridge Christian Church in Longmont, Colo., “but I’ve been giving out a lifetime’s worth of hugs this week.” Rusaw stepped down Sunday from his 28-year run at LifeBridge and now is focusing his efforts as CEO of Spire Network, the successor organization to the North American Christian Convention. Rusaw started at the church in 1991 after a stint as executive vice president at Cincinnati
May 11, 2018
Former senior pastor George Ross and his son, Nate Ross, switch roles. By Andy Rector In 1999, when George Ross arrived at Northside Christian Church in New Albany, Indiana, the congregation had been without a lead pastor for 14 months. During the interim, attendance had grown 12 percent. That fact impressed upon Ross that Northside was fertile soil. After spending more than a decade with the church, Ross was nearing retirement age, and he knew church leaders faced an important decision. What should Northside’s next step be? “Did Northside need something different from me?” Ross said. “I talked with
May 10, 2018
The church grew in 2017, despite being warned attendance possibly could drop 15 percent under a new pastor. By Andy Rector Tyler McKenzie says he was “raw” when he was hired as teaching pastor at Northeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2012. In April 2016, McKenzie became lead pastor. Former lead minister Bob Cherry, who helped start Northeast in 1977, saw something in McKenzie during the initial interview process. And Cherry doesn’t mince words about McKenzie’s subsequent promotion: “Tyler is the right guy” for the lead pastor role. A year before McKenzie joined the Northeast staff, Cherry began
By Brian Jennings Dave Dunson and Brian Jennings didn”t exactly exchange places on their church staff. But Dunson gave up the senior ministry to move to another staff ministry position while Jennings moved from youth ministry to become the lead minister. Here”s why and how it happened. Highland Park Christian Church has been ministering to people in the heart of Tulsa, Oklahoma, for almost 60 years. In 2004, we first began talking about a future staff transition. Everything about our situation felt unique; we weren”t planning on anyone leaving or retiring. Dave Dunson came to the church as senior minister
By Ken Idleman I call it “ecclesiastical matchmaking,” playing cupid to help a local church get together with a minister or a minister together with a church. Part of the experience involves coaching leaders and churches through the courting/calling process. And I”ve done quite a bit of it. After decades of church consulting, including 30 years of helping churches and leaders as a Christian college president, I”ve logged some experiences and come to some conclusions about ministerial succession in local churches. Here are my observations. Defining Terms First let”s define some terms. Pastoral transition and pastoral succession are not the same
By LeRoy Lawson While admitting there is no sure-fire formula for success in succession, I have learned a few things from retiring and watching others retire. Here”s my advice. “I wanted you to do well. I didn”t want you to do this well.” I had been away from my 20-year ministry with Central Christian Church in Mesa, Arizona, for more than a year when Cal Jernigan, my successor, invited me back to preach one weekend. It was already evident the church was prospering under his guidance. All I had hoped would happen in that first year after my departure had
November 29, 2015
By Bob Mink I had the privilege of planting Discovery Christian Church (originally Moreno Valley Christian Church) in 1984 in a small but rapidly growing distant suburb of Los Angeles. I was 33 years old at the time, and our family moved from the Greater Philadelphia area. On our 30th anniversary in 2014, I stepped down as senior pastor. Looking back, I now realize the transition began in 2011, when one of our associate pastors left our church to become campus minister at his alma mater. I was fully supportive of the move, but after almost 27 years, I was worn down and
September 22, 2014
By Mike Shannon One of our greatest problems in life is trying to make godly and wise decisions. We are so desperate to do the right thing that we often lapse into an almost superstitious view of trying to discern the will of God. I don”t know about you, but I have often had to make decisions when I was not certain what God wanted me to do. Sometimes I thought I was certain, but later had to reconsider. Nowhere is this tension felt more acutely than when we are trying to decide whether or not to stay at a
April 17, 2014
By John Plunkett In September 2011, I had preached at Creve Coeur (Illinois) Christian Church for 33 years, more than half its existence. But I was ready to retire. I had been thinking about this for some time. As early as 2006 I proposed a plan with an associate minister that would have implemented a three-year transition moving me to retirement and him to the senior minister”s role. But that plan fell apart when the associate was called to be senior minister of another congregation. In September 2011, I told the elders of my pending retirement and that my last
January 27, 2008
By Richard L. Jones From the time he became senior pastor of Pantano Christian Church in Tucson, Arizona, in October 1992, Tim Coop had a dream. Tim dreamed he would find a younger pastor to whom he would “pass the baton” so he wouldn”t have to leave the church he loved and served. Instead, Tim wanted to remain at Pantano as a vital part of the team. He would be there to support his friend as together they continued to fulfill the dream. Tim Coop believes in the concept of a shared ministry. Tim initiated this transition in January 2004.
A college coaching analogy frames the pressures on megachurch senior ministers, the dynamics of icon culture, and research on tenure and growth. The article argues churches should begin succession planning earlier to ensure healthier transitions.
Pantano Christian Church in Tucson has pursued a multi-year pastoral transition plan while shifting to collaborative leadership, expanding small groups, and launching church-planting efforts locally and internationally.
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