In 1986, a small congregation of twelve members voted to invite me to serve as their pastor. That summer, Terrie and I and our two young children moved from Northern California to here in northern Los Angeles County where it has since been my great privilege to serve as the pastor of Lancaster Baptist Church.
When we arrived, the church faced dire challenges: a dwindling congregation, a building in foreclosure, and insufficient offerings to cover the most basic bills. Any kind of pastoral salary was out of the question.
Nevertheless, we were full of faith and believed God could work in this growing desert town. That first Sunday night, I preached from Philippians 1:27 and asked our church family to join with me in “striving together for the faith of the gospel.”
We rolled up our sleeves and immediately began gospel outreach to our community. Over the first eighteen months, I knocked on a minimum of five hundred doors per week, sharing the gospel and inviting people to church. Our church family joined in weekly outreach. And soon, God began to bless with growth.
The growth came slowly at first. I remember in the early months of our ministry telling Terrie that my dream was that maybe one day, some day, we would have 100 people in attendance.
By the grace of God, that dream was realized within the first year. The next year, our average attendance had doubled. The next year, it doubled again. By 1994—six years after we came—Lancaster Baptist Church was averaging over 2,000 in attendance weekly—what researchers call a “megachurch.” I was as surprised as anyone, and we give God all the glory for the great work He is doing here.
As we neared the end of December, I realized that 2024 marked my thirtieth year to pastor a megachurch. As I’ve reflected over the past few weeks on some of the victories and challenges of pastoring a large congregation, I’m filled with gratitude to the Lord for building His church (Matthew 16:18) and allowing me to serve as the undershepherd of His people.
There have, of course, been challenges over these past thirty-eight years of pastoring and thirty years of pastoring a megachurch. But, in many ways, the challenges of pastoring a larger church are the same—only accentuated—as pastoring a small church. Some challenges (such as need for a larger building or more staff) come with growth, and some (such as diligence in study or handling conflicts) are simply highlighted by growth.
As I reflect on these decades of ministry, I want to share ten lessons that I pray will be a blessing to any pastor or ministry leader.
1. Shepherds should smell like sheep.
The church belongs to Christ (Acts 20:28). I am simply called to serve as His undershepherd (1 Peter 5:2–3). Pastors are not CEOs; they are shepherds called to be among the flock as servant leaders.
Pastors are not CEOs; they are shepherds called to be among the flock as servant leaders. Share on XGod has given me a shepherd’s heart. I know that some who visit our church for the first time assume that I can’t know people in the congregation, but I do. God has allowed my ability to know our church family to grow as our church has grown.
There are a few ways I have actively worked to keep these connections with our church family.
First, and most importantly, I pray for every member of our church by name on a regular basis. God often uses that prayer time to nudge my heart toward specific needs and ways to minister on an individual level.
Additionally, I stand in the lobby and greet people after every service. And I stay as long as there are people ready to talk. This started back when we only had one entrance to the church building as a way to catch guests before they left. It has become a cherished time to visit with guests and church members alike.
Finally, since the earliest days of our marriage, Terrie and I have taken seriously the pastoral qualification to be “a lover of hospitality” (Titus 1:8). We regularly have people from our church family to our home and enjoy fellowship with them.
2. Administration is important, but it should never replace the primary callings of prayer and the ministry of the Word.
The primary need of a church family is God’s Word. Preaching and prayer are essential for a healthy church and are, according to Acts 6:4, the primary responsibilities of a pastor: “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.” While I enjoy administrative work and believe it is one of my spiritual gifts, I have found that I must diligently schedule and actively use my study and prayer times.
There are many ways I can serve various members of our congregation. But what every single member needs and deserves is a pastor who prays for them and who enters the pulpit with a message that has come from the thorough, Spirit-led study of God’s Word. For that to happen, I must prioritize it.
3. No amount of sermon preparation or ministry service can replace a personal walk with God.
To be sure, God often speaks to my heart through sermon study. It is impossible to be immersed in the study of God’s Word without personal benefit in my walk with the Lord. Still, I know that I need time to personally seek God’s face in prayer and through reading His Word in a way that is humbly focused on my own walk with Him and allowing the Holy Spirit to expose or minister to the needs of my own heart.
The longer I serve the Lord, the greater my desire to finish well as Paul described in 2 Timothy 4:7: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” This kind of faithfulness comes through daily seeking God’s face and walking with Him.
No amount of sermon preparation or ministry service can replace a personal walk with God. Share on X4. Every church can disciple.
A common assumption about large churches is that they sacrifice spiritual depth for numerical growth. This may happen if a church is pursuing growth at all costs. But if a church is growing because it is pursuing obedience to the Great Commission—which includes both gospel evangelism and discipleship—the church can grow both spiritually and numerically at the same time.
Discipleship isn’t about church size but church priorities. Every biblical church, regardless of the size, can and should keep God’s Word central through biblical preaching and intentional discipleship.
Discipleship isn’t about church size but church priorities. Share on XAt our church, we have developed and use the Continue discipleship course to lead new believers through the basics of doctrine and the Christian walk. These fourteen one-on-one sessions have been hugely helpful in grounding new believers in the faith.
5. Healthy pastors raise up faithful spiritual leaders.
As Paul gave Timothy instructions for pastoring, he emphasized the need to develop other leaders: “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).
Insecure leaders struggle to develop other leaders. Not only do these leaders become bogged down administratively, but they hold others back from developing and using their spiritual gifts.
Although God gives the church one pastor, He has designed that the church be filled with spiritual leaders—in both the home and the church. Early in my pastoral ministry, the Lord helped me see the importance of developing Spirit-filled servant leaders. (I shared some of this journey in the book Guided by Grace.)
6. The best way to handle both expectations and criticism is to serve for the audience of One.
Pastors face immense expectations. And the larger the church, the greater number of people who have expectations. Additionally, larger churches face greater scrutiny and, ultimately, criticism.
Expectations can be crushing, and criticism can cut deeply. But relief comes when we remember that we are serving for the audience of One—the Lord. Colossians 3:23–24 says, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”
Our labor is for Christ, and our reward will come from Christ. “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away” (1 Peter 5:4).
7. A healthy family and a growing ministry can co-exist.
One of the fears I often hear from young couples going into ministry is concern over if they have to choose between having a healthy family and a growing ministry. The biblical answer is “No!” Both family and ministry are responsibilities given by God to a pastor. And a pastor must not engage at one to the neglect of the other.
My first ministry is to my wife and children. As an older pastor once told me, “The church is Christ’s bride, but Terrie is your bride. The church can get another pastor, but she cannot get another husband.” Pastors must take seriously their responsibility as the spiritual leader of their home. They must sacrificially love their wives (Ephesians 5:25) and actively parent their children (Ephesians 6:4).
But a pastor is also called to lead the church (1 Peter 5:2). This is a multi-faceted, labor-intensive calling that he must not neglect.
There are many answers to fulfilling both of these God-given callings. (I’ve written about some of them in the book Making Home Work.) But one of the most basic is to recognize that ministry and family can be completing rather than competing callings in your life. Serve the Lord as a family. Involve your children in ministry.
Ministry and family can be completing rather than competing callings in your life. Share on XYes, there will be hours every week when you are primarily engaged in family or ministry. But there can also be hours every week when you are engaged in family and ministry.
8. God will always provide, and He blesses sacrificial giving.
As our church began to grow, it soon became apparent that we would need a new building. At the time, we were meeting in downtown Lancaster in a location that had no room to expand.
I invited our church family to a “Giving by Faith” banquet. On that one night, our church generously and sacrificially gave toward the purchase of new property. Ever since then, it seems we have been in one multi-decade building program! We’re constantly needing to expand our facilities as the Lord allows us to grow.
Our church is not filled with wealthy people. Our community is not a wealthy community. We simply have growing Christians with generous hearts—much like the Macedonian Christians Paul described in 2 Corinthians 8. Over the years, God has blessed their faith-filled, sacrificial generosity.
Our church has also been faithful to support missionaries. In fact, we took on missionaries before we had the funds for a pastor’s salary. And over the past several years, our church family has given over $1 million annually to missions.
One of the truths I have seen proved over and again is that God will always provide even as Philippians 4:19 promises: “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
9. A growing church is always in transition.
Perhaps you’ve heard the statement, “Methods are many, principles are few; methods may change; principles never do.”
Methods are many, principles are few; methods may change; principles never do. Share on XIt is impossible to grow while maintaining the status quo. Growth requires change. And growing leaders and churches must be willing to adapt in their methods—schedules, systems, processes—in order to grow.
This past Sunday, we had our thirty-ninth annual “Vision Sunday” at Lancaster Baptist Church. On that Sunday, I shared our church’s annual theme for 2025 and faith-filled ministry goals for the upcoming twelve months. Like every year, included in those goals were adjustments to our current systems.
10. Every ministry blessing is the gift of God’s grace.
As I reflect on these past thirty years of pastoring a megachurch, I see God’s grace at every turn. The size of our church has never been the goal—faithfulness has. First Corinthians 3:7 reminds us, “So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.”
I’m deeply thankful for the growth and blessings God has given at Lancaster Baptist Church over these thirty-eight years. And I’m grateful for the lessons He’s taught me through both the challenges and the victories. But we dare not take credit for any of it. It has all been by God’s grace.
If you are shepherding a church family, large or small, remember that the challenges you face are not insurmountable. They are opportunities for God to work through you. Faithfulness to His calling, a focus on His Word, and a love for His people are what matter most. Keep trusting the Lord’s promises, and keep serving His people with joy and faithfulness.
