A Church Needs a Pastor

The Lord’s will is for churches to have at least one pastor. Sometimes an established church loses its pastor for one reason or another. In such cases, the church does not cease being a church; but it does need the right man to fill the post. However, for a mission work to become a constituted, autonomous church, it does need to have a man who is ready right away to become its pastor.  We see this modeled in Acts 14:21-23.

Paul had been stoned at Lystra and left for dead. Afterward, he went to nearby Derbe, preached, and returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch where he exhorted the brethren to continue in the faith. “And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed” (Acts 14:23). After Paul returned, each group was called a church. Right after they were called churches, elders were ordained in every church.

The new church needs a shepherd to lead it, feed it, and protect it. Without a shepherd, the group is vulnerable to a host of problems. If no pastor is available, the mission work should remain under the protection of the mother church. When the group is ready to organize, a qualified man should be recommended by the mother church, the mission work constituted, and the new church would then vote to receive that man as their pastor.