FINDING THE RIGHT CAMPUS PASTOR
There is no decision you will make on your multi site journey that is more important than finding the right campus pastor! This is a critical decision for many reasons. Here are some things that make a great campus pastor.
1. The campus pastor is the face of your church in that community! Think carefully about the implications in that statement.
2. A great campus pastor must be able to lead a large group of people. Great person does not always translate into great leader. They need to be both!
3. A great campus pastor is a team builder.
4. A great campus pastor is a self starter. A campus pastor can’t be someone who needs to be told what do all the time. I love racehorse leaders! Every once in a while you may have rein one in, but you don’t ever have to light a fires under them to get them moving! I’ll take that trade off any day!
5. A great campus pastor has immense character and integrity. I have complete trust in every one of our campus pastors, and if I didn’t, they would not be in that position!!!!
6. A great campus pastor thinks outside the box. They’re creative, they’re risk takers, and they’re seed planters.
7. A great campus pastor is fiercely loyal to the vision and the leadership of the church. Miss this one and you’ll have a real mess on your hands!
8. A great campus pastor either already has your churches DNA, or they’re a sponge to get it! Without the CP having the DNA of your church, the campus will become it’s own thing instead of being a part of the existing vision and direction.
9. A campus pastor must fit the team! This is so critical because one bad apple really can spoil the bunch. This is especially critical in a relational system like ours, but I believe it’s critical no matter what your leadership style is.
10. A great campus pastor must be able to hear the word “no.” I told Jason Curlee ( 5 Points CP) no to something one time and he twittered this, “John Atkinson told me no to something today, guess I’ll have to go find something else for him to say no to ” I love that attitude!
Leadership development is so important in all areas of a healthy growing church, but in my humble opinion, I don’t think there is anywhere where developing leaders is more important than with campus pastors. A campus pastor will be handed the keys to a church with your name on it, they’ll be handed the responsibility of the spiritual well being of everyone who attends that church, they’ll be entrusted with the financial health of the campus, and all of this usually takes place in another town somewhere. We have a campus that is three hours away, trust me these things are important. These are big time responsibilities, so make sure you think carefully about who you’re giving them to.
John
