1. Relationships change with distance and time.
The Lord has been so kind to my family. At each church we’ve been blessed with relationships that have withstood the test of distance and time. Moving constantly hinders your ability to invest deeply in the lives of others, and for others to invest deeply in you.
Staying provides a front-row seat to long wins.
Social media reminds me of this lesson almost daily. I love when a former student posts a picture from a mission trip or serving in the church, or shares what God is revealing through his Word. Likewise, my heart breaks when I see posts from those who are clearly struggling or have walked away from Jesus altogether.
Staying put presents opportunities to establish deep, meaningful relationships as you walk alongside others who are navigating new experiences and challenges.
It’s been wisely said, “We overestimate what we can do in five years, and underestimate what we can do in 10.” Long wins take time; sticking around allows us to see them.
3. You can lead when they trust you.
If your people don’t know you, why should they trust you? One it takes five to seven years for people in a church to consider you their pastor. They may call you “pastor,” but they’re still more likely to phone a previous one in the first few years of your ministry there. Why? Longevity provides stability, stability provides consistency, and consistency provides trust. If you have a vision for moving forward with necessary changes, your relational track record gives you capital to pull from.
Remain consistent, display commitment, and serve your church well for a significant period of time—and your congregation will more readily accept your leadership because you’ve proven yourself trustworthy.
Sticking around is an investment in your family.
When we arrived at our previous church, a woman embraced my wife, Amy, in a warm hug: “I am so glad you’re here.” It was at that moment we knew we’d be cared for there. And we were. All the churches we’ve served have made us feel like family. Staying doesn’t just benefit the people you serve; staying benefits your family, surrounding them with people who will care for them deeply.
Longevity provides stability, stability provides consistency, and consistency provides trust.
We’ve been able to discern God’s providential care with each move. He has provided lifelong friendships and sanctifying circumstances every step of the way. So if you sense him leading you to leave, then (on the basis of godly counsel) leave. But if you can stay, then stay. Stay for deep relationships, the long wins, and the health of the church and your family.
Staying is hard, and there will always be opportunities to go. But don’t discount the value of committing yourself to one place for the long haul.
Gospel Saturation as Endgame
To saturate means to make a place completely full of something. The place is the geography a church seeks to fill. The “something” or substance being filled is the Gospel. Gospel saturation means filling a geography with the Gospel such that every person is touched by its presence.
Pursuing Gospel saturation and seeing a reduction in lostness in our communities requires an endgame focused on mobilizing, sending, and pouring out rather than attracting, accumulating, and consuming. Our engine for growth must be disciple making fueled by an expanding army of everyday missionaries who are equipped and deployed on their unique callings to the mission fields where they work, live, study, and play.
“Pursuing Gospel saturation and seeing a reduction in lostness in our communities requires an endgame focused on mobilizing, sending, and pouring out rather than attracting, accumulating, and consuming.”
This mobilization for disciple making must produce church planting that leads to multiplication as a means for further extending disciple making and making saturation possible. Carl George, author and pioneer in the church growth movement, told me the following about his personal, inward reflections on this right endgame:
“The important focus on multiplication is what we were hoping to do at the birth of the Church Growth movement. We really wanted to see multiplication happen, but we were missing a key ingredient. As we move beyond the prevailing addition scorecard in the U.S Church, my dream is to see the fulfillment of a scorecard focused on multiplication.
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