Great Start Workshops help pastors in new appointments

7/14/2010


By GLENN HANNIGAN

Years of in-depth study and training goes into the making of a pastor.
      
Doctrine. Theology. Polity. Church history. Old Testament. New Testament.
      
“But there are many important areas where pastors don’t receive formal training,” said Mike Selleck, Director of Connectional Ministries for the North Georgia Conference. “We know that if a pastor gets off to a rough start in a new church it can hinder the entire ministry. We want to keep that from happening. ”
     
In response, Connectional Ministries has developed Great Start, a series of training workshops designed to help pastors who are taking new appointments. The first symposium, for pastors and administrative assistants, was held in 2005. A year later, a session was added to help pastors develop a strong working relationship with their finance teams.
   
This year, there are five separate sessions covering an array of practical topics.
   
“We know that some pastors, who have no training in management, are sometimes given a staff of four-to-ten people to lead,” Mike Selleck said. “They are not equipped to run staff meetings or manage folks. It is our goal to get people together and facilitate conversations and get to learn about how each one operates.
     
Selleck says that Great Start is not simply a matter of teaching the “right way or wrong way” to manage a church, but to address differences in style or preferences that might cause conflict.
    
“You might get a pastor moving to a church who has 20 years experience handling finances in a particular way,” Selleck said. “But the person working at the church might have 40 years experience doing it another way. It is not a matter of who is the good guy and who is the bad guy. We bring people together to get to know each other, discuss ideas, ask questions and negotiate how they will operate together.”
        
Selleck equates the working relationship between pastors and their church staff with marriage. He said the response from prior participants has been “through the roof.”
        
“Churches that take advantage of this have a much better chance of developing productive working relationships,” Selleck said. “We will continue to look at new areas where we can offer help and support.”

For a listing of upcoming Great Start sessions, please visit http://www.ngumc.org/go.