The Heart of a Pastor's Ministry

Rachel Boehm Van Harmelen
March 2005

Church members today have increasingly diverse expectations for their pastors. A parish pastor is expected to excel in many roles: preacher, counselor, administrator, trainer, educator, motivator, youth worker—and the list goes on. It is no wonder, then, that more and more pastors are struggling to develop a clear understanding of what their roles and priorities should be in their local congregations. Helping pastors attain greater clarity in their ministries was, in part, the driving force behind the CRC’s Sustaining Pastoral Excellence (SPE) program, made possible through a generous grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. One direct outcome of the SPE program has been a five-day intensive course, co-sponsored by Calvin Theological Seminary, called The Theology and Practice of Pastoral Ministry. Offered twice each year, the course helps pastors develop qualities and skills to enhance their pastoral ministry through prioritizing, personal planning and goal setting.

After his first year in ministry, Rev. Jacob Boer—who serves First CRC in Montreal, Quebec—was searching for more clarity in his role as pastor. He wanted a better understanding of what his priorities should be. He heard about the course and then talked to some other pastors in his classis who had taken it. Boer decided to sign up for the course offered last June in Grand Rapids, Michigan (the course has also been offered near Ottawa, Ontario, and in Orlando, Florida).

“The main highlight of the course for me was meeting with pastors of varying degrees of experience and listening to their stories of how the Lord has guided them in their various churches,” says Boer. “I learned that they wrestled with many of the same things I was wrestling with: questions like, ‘What is really expected of a pastor?’ and ‘What are we really called to be and do?’”

Boer says the course helped him discover that “the practice of ministry needs a pastor who is secure in who he or she is as a servant of the Lord and what his or her call really means.” Through the course, Boer says he has come to understand those aspects of his life and ministry better. “The course helped me to see what my calling as a pastor really is so that I could do what I had been trained to be: Christ’s spokesperson, arms, voice and presence in people’s lives, helping them to be closer to him.”

Boer believes the course has benefited his congregation as well. “It called me away from becoming a CEO type of pastor who was more concerned about developing programs, into a pastor who is less concerned about stats and more concerned about the lives and hearts of the congregation already there. It’s not that evangelism and programs aren’t important; it’s that people are the highest priority.”

Ruth Boven, who attended the course with Boer in Grand Rapids last June, agrees that the course positively impacts local churches. “I think any time a pastor has the opportunity to learn, to grow, to be stretched, to be nurtured—the church is going to benefit in some way.”

Boven, who hopes to enter the ordained ministry later this year, took the course as an elective credit toward her M.Div. degree. She was intrigued by the course’s reading list and attracted to the opportunity to learn from more experienced pastors. Boven is working part-time for Neland Avenue CRC in Grand Rapids, Michigan, while finishing her seminary education.

“The course was eye-opening for me,” says Boven. “I was surprised how many pastors came to this class hurting and depleted,” she said. “Some expressed that they were ill prepared to deal with some of the conflicts they faced in their ministry settings. I think this class offered both encouragement and direction for these pastors.”

Boven says hearing firsthand about some of the other pastors’ challenges has motivated her to build her ministry on a solid foundation. The course, she explains, was an excellent starting point for that. “I learned how important it is for a pastor to put healthy practices into place from the beginning, practices that support physical, emotional and spiritual health,” says Boven. The course also reinforced the importance of keeping God central.

“I have been putting more thought and time into deepening my own spiritual walk,” says Boven. “My life needs to be centered on God and balanced well all the way around in order for my ministry to have an impact on anyone else.”

Both Boer and Boven encourage other pastors to sign up for The Theology and Practice of Pastoral Ministry. “Not only is it a good time to connect with other pastors and learn from their experiences,” says Boven, “God also uses opportunities like these to show himself to us.”

Boer agrees. “For those who have been in ministry for only a short time, it will help them put a foundation under their ministry and help them form their identity as a pastor,” he says. He also recommends the course to more experienced pastors. “It’s a wonderful time of fellowship, sharing and laughter as we see how God works—often in spite of us. It’s a course that builds you up and encourages you for the ministry that is waiting for you back in your parish.”

The next class will be held in Grand Rapids, MI on June 7-11, 2010. For more information or to register for an upcoming course visit www.calvinseminary.edu.