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What’s Up:
Church growth stalls when pastors get buried in church busyness and don’t leave the church building.
So What:
You can’t grow a church if you’re always stuck behind a desk, tucked in the fellowship hall, or imprisoned by endless (and pointless) meetings. Growth happens in the community, not in committee meetings.
The Point Is:
Stop letting busy win
Sunday’s always coming, but you don’t have to be at every meeting or Bible study. That’s not your highest calling.
The data is clear
Growing churches have pastors who spend 50% or more of their time outside the church (Paul Borden, Make or Break Your Church in 365 Days.). Smaller churches? The number jumps to 85%.
Start where you are
Get started by carving out just 2–3 hours a week to intentionally network, meet new people, and reconnect with prospects.
Hand off what you can
Member care isn’t the pastor’s job. Biblically, it belongs to the members. Delegate. Equip. Release.
And … ?
The church isn’t a clubhouse, and your office isn’t your mission field. Acts 6 and Ephesians 4 are brutally clear: the role of the leader isn’t to babysit church folks. It’s to equip them. The early church made a clean division between ministry to the members and mission to the unchurched. And the mission didn’t happen inside any four walls.
But let’s be honest: it’s not easy to shift out of maintenance mode. Still, the longer you wait to reclaim your hours, the harder it gets. So don’t wait. Book time outside the building on your calendar like it’s sacred. Show up at community events. Walk into coffee shops. Introduce yourself to business owners. That’s where the future of your church is. Not in your inbox.
Action!
Block three hours this week for community networking and defend that time like your mission depends on it. Because it does.
Need help? Grab your free copy of the Ghost Town to Growth Track Guide for Pastors today.
