Thank You Jerry & Melody McCurdy

Do you know how rare it is for a pastor to serve 15+ years in one church during his career? Lifeway Researchers recently put out the most up to date data on pastoral tenure and the average tenure today is 3.6 years.

Why so short? The answers vary from church to church and pastor to pastor but I firmly believe we pastors cannot fully form an opportunity to minister well to our community until:

1.      We are planted firmly in the congregation and community.

2.      The congregation or community plant us within them/it.

And, when you survey ministers who successfully serve their church for 10+ years you find some common characteristics, such as:

1.       They pray daily for their members and fellow church staff.

2.       They view their family as their first and most important ministry.

3.       They connect with and love the people in their church.

4.       They choose their battles carefully and wisely.

5.       They expect conflict and criticism and they love people through it.

6.       They connect with other pastors in the community for friendship, support, and unity.

7.       They work hard and serve well.

We say thank you to Jerry & Melody for serving Shadycrest so well for 15 years. You set a great example for us all. And, we look forward to celebrating your anniversary next week on Sunday, June 28^th. Everyone, let’s make every effort to be here (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13)!