“How do I become a senior pastor?”
That question shouldn’t have thrown me as it did. The middle school student, having grown up in the church, was doing a project for his homeschool class. His task was to interview someone who was doing a job he hoped to do as an adult. He had asked me about what my day looked like, how I prepare sermons, and a host of other things. But then he asked that question. Why did it trip me up?
The reality is becoming a pastor is different than most other careers. If you want to become a lawyer, there’s a clear path with various milestones along the way. Yet, there’s no one clear path to becoming a senior pastor. Although a recent Lifeway Research study found “most current U.S. Protestant senior pastors worked outside of ministry as adults for only a short time,” the study also found many began vocational ministry in a position other than senior pastor.
What is the path to becoming a senior pastor? Should I start in an associate position and work my way “up”? Or should I begin work elsewhere, serve the local church, and wait until I’m called into a senior pastorate? The answer is that there really isn’t an answer.
There is no one path to senior pastor
Jeremiah was set apart for ministry from the womb. So was Samuel. But Moses took quite a detour before he became the leader of the Israelite people. Peter, Andrew, James, and John made their careers as fishermen, but after one momentous encounter with Jesus, they became “fishers of men.”
While Scripture lays out qualifications of a pastor, there’s no template for becoming a pastor. There are some God seems to call into ministry from a young age and others are called after many years in non-ministry employment. According to the research, 3 in 10 pastors jumped right into the lead chair. But most develop their ministry skills in associate positions before being called into a senior position.
Each pastor’s road to senior pastor is quite diverse. The truth is God can, and does, use any experience as we serve Him. God used even Moses’s years in Egypt, as well as those in hiding, later.
Think of it as a calling, not a career
If you believe God is calling you to be a senior pastor and are aspiring to that office (1 Timothy 3:1), that calling will have to be affirmed by a local church. And that local church, hopefully, will assess whether or not you meet the biblical qualifications outlined in Scripture(1 Timothy 3:2-7).
These qualifications are not particular skills that a person can learn through either ministry school or the school of hard knocks. They are character traits that are born out of a thriving relationship with Jesus. If you want to be a senior pastor, the best thing you can do is focus on being a disciple of Jesus. This is the foundation of any minister who is pleasing to the Lord.
Ministry is a calling, not simply a career. A career is often associated with advancement, promotions, and climbing the professional ladder, but ministry is about faithfully serving where God has placed you. That means you can begin doing some of what is involved in pastoral ministry even now.
We can compare this to writing. Many people want to have written a book. Fewer people will actually write a book. Writers write, published or not. You cannot stop a writer from doing what they’re called to do. A writer will be crafting sentences with or without a book contract. Pastoral ministry is similar. Pastors will pastor. Exercise those gifts wherever God has called you—worry about the “book contract” later. Pastoring well through the opportunities God gives you in the local church will almost always lead to more opportunities.
How do you become a senior pastor? Well…you pastor.
Non-ministry jobs prepare you for ministry
There’s certainly a question of preparation. If I feel God is calling me into vocational ministry, should I quit my job? Should I go to college or seminary? Should I take a position as an associate pastor if I feel like I’m supposed to be a lead pastor?
Be encouraged that God can, and does, use anything in preparing people for the pastorate. If you are currently working in a non-ministry job, God could be using it as preparation for a senior pastorate.
Many people may not realize how much their non-ministry jobs prepare them for pastoral roles. Non-ministry jobs shape character and give life skills. God will not waste them and might be using them to help you jump right into a senior pastorate.
This experience will also give you a better understanding of the challenges your congregation faces. Working in non-ministry jobs gives you great insight into the pressures and struggles people experience daily. This will make you more relatable as a pastor, and you’ll be better equipped to offer practical wisdom and guidance in your sermons and pastoral counsel.
But many senior pastors have only minimal work experience in non-ministry jobs. Most of us began in junior roles, before becoming a senior pastor.
Ministry roles prepare you for a senior pastor role
You learn best by doing things on the job. One of the best ways to learn how to be an effective senior pastor is by becoming an effective associate pastor. You may also consider an internship or a pastoral residency. These can help you develop essential ministry skills without having to bear the full weight of leadership.
I was a youth pastor and an associate pastor before becoming a senior pastor. In these roles I did many of the things I do now as a senior pastor. I preached weekly, counseled students, managed people and money, set a vision, planned events, and managed volunteers. This helped me when I became a senior pastor.
An associate is able to laser focus on one area, while a senior pastor has a much broader focus and carries responsibilities from every ministry area within a church. Another benefit of serving as an associate is being able to learn from the senior pastor. Watch as the pastor navigates complexities of church leadership. When you have your own, you’ll remember how the senior pastor you served with handled the situations. And hopefully you’ll have someone you can call when you face your own difficult circumstances. Mentorship is invaluable as you prepare to take on a senior role.
Being in a ministry role also helps you develop the spiritual discipline and emotional resilience needed for pastoral ministry. Ministry can be draining, and senior pastors face unique pressures that can lead to burnout if not managed well. In some way nothing can prepare you for this weight. But being an associate pastor helps you begin to feel the burden and develop habits of prayer, self-care, and reliance on God’s strength which will sustain you when you’re a senior pastor.
Faithfulness along the way
Becoming a senior pastor is not about following a specific career path. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to how it happens. The journey to senior pastoral leadership is as varied as the people called into it. The most important thing is not the exact route you take but your faithfulness along the way. You can rest assured that if you are a follower of Jesus, God is using your present situation to shape you and prepare you.
So, how do you become a senior pastor? You pastor—wherever you are, with whatever gifts God has given you, trusting He will lead you in His timing.
This story originally appeared at Lifeway Research.
