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Ep. 004 What does it look like to have a missionary mindset in the rural church?
- 2024/05/13
- 再生時間： 1分未満
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Episode Show Notes: In this episode, Joy Suzanne Hunt interviews Pastor Christina, the lead pastor of a small rural church in California. They discuss the unique financial challenges faced by rural churches and how having a missionary mindset can help navigate those challenges. Key Takeaways: Rural churches often face difficulties in building a large congregation, finding and financially supporting staff, and having enough people to financially support the church. Pastor Christina shares how her church resorted to fundraisers like bake sales and car washes to supplement income during lean times. Unconventional sources of income, such as supporters from outside the church community, also helped sustain their finances. Transparency about the church's financial situation with the congregation should be handled wisely, considering the church's season and the congregation's ability to carry the burden. Having a missionary mindset, being willing to make sacrifices, and trusting God's sovereignty are crucial for pastors in small rural churches. Faithful obedience to God's calling, even in difficult circumstances, is essential, as He can work miracles and provide in unexpected ways. Pastor Christina's advice for pastors of small rural churches facing financial struggles: Be faithful and sacrificial in your part, and have faith and trust in God to take care of the church's needs. A missionary mindset, being willing to count the cost and lay down your life, is vital for rural church ministry. God builds churches in remote areas and among people with limited resources, so trust His plans and provisions. The episode highlights the importance of having a "missionary mindset" and the unique challenges and opportunities faced in "rural church" ministry when it comes to finances and relying on God's provision. Full Transcript: Introduction [00:00:00] Joy Suzanne Hunt: Welcome to the Pastors & Money Podcast, where we help pastors, ministry leaders, and churches start thriving financially using money as a tool to fuel God's mission in our churches and our families. I'm your host, Joy Suzanne Hunt. I'm a pastor and a financial coach, and my goal is to create a space to have conversations about the challenges and the opportunities we all face when it comes to money. You can find the episode show notes, free resources, and more at pastorsandmoney.com. And here's the show. Christina's Ministry Role Joy Suzanne: Today's interview is with Pastor Christina. Pastor Christina is the lead pastor of a small rural church in California. And we have a great conversation about how finances can look in a small church. Christina, welcome to the Pastors & Money Podcast. Christina: Thanks [00:01:00] for having me. Joy Suzanne: So Christina, could you tell us just briefly, what's your ministry role and how you got started in ministry? Christina: Yeah, so I've been doing ministry for a lot of years. I would even say decades, but I've been in my position now only for three years. So I'm the senior pastor of our church and I started as the children's pastor. I've been there at the church since April of 2017. So we're going on quite a few years. Ministry in a Small Rural Community And I started actually as the children's pastor. And then I kind of graduated into the interim pastor when the lead pastor and his wife left. And so I led the church through transition for about five months and then was voted in as the senior pastor. And April is officially three years as the senior pastor. Joy Suzanne: So, and the church that you're with is in a pretty small, not just a small church, but in a pretty small community, right? Christina: Yeah, so we probably have [00:02:00] around 3,500 people in our town. So yeah, it's small, it's rural, there are cow pastures, there's no big grocery store, you have to drive to go to those things. Financial Challenges of Rural Churches