By Heidi Sorrells, Pastor Advocate for Church Health
The re:Charge conference for pastors and church leaders is coming up Sept. 27-29 in Hot Springs. It is sponsored by Healthy Church Solutions and HealthyChurchSolutions.org, and our team is excited about this opportunity for ministry leaders to break away and get re-energized. To get refocused, we sometimes need to draw apart alone. Other times, we need to be with co-laborers and be reminded of the strengthening power of God’s Word, the effectiveness of prayer, the encouraging element of iron sharpening iron and the joy of fellowship and laughter.
We aren’t designed to do ministry alone, and re:Charge aims to be a retreat where leaders can plug in anew, fix our gaze afresh on Jesus and be reminded that there are others who have been where we are and can cheer us on in the race. It’s no surprise that pastors and ministry leaders need encouragement, especially over the last two years as we have continued to navigate COVID — decision fatigue, polarized viewpoints of all sorts, grief over many not returning to in-person church and even the loss of loved ones.
David Kinnaman of Barna Group says, “We started seeing early warning signs of burnout among pastors before COVID. Now… pastors are experiencing significant burnout, driving them to seriously consider leaving the ministry.” Recent Barna polls state that nearly two in five pastors have considered quitting full-time ministry in the past year, and nearly half of that number are leaders under the age of 45. Equally alarming is to note that this statistic is up nine full points from the beginning of 2021.
Another issue facing the church is the loneliness epidemic, which has only been exacerbated over the last two years. Barna states that one in five practicing Christians admits to feeling lonely each day. Comparing Christians to non-Christians doesn’t show much of a difference in this saddening trend. In fact, there is also research to show that few men actually have a close best friend.
An awareness of these stats and having conversations with leaders in our work that backs these reports are part of the vision behind hosting the Re:Charge Conference. We want to pour into leaders who are wearing many hats and are weary or getting weary. We want to come alongside these leaders and their spouses and help them have a reset. David Kinnaman also says, “More than ever, the church needs resilient leaders who are humble, agile, rooted in prayer and committed to being healthy as an essential aspect of effective leadership.” We couldn’t agree more. Healthy churches require healthy leaders!
This year at Re:Charge, we’ll worship together with Travis Sellers, hear from Seasoned Pastor and Author Bill Elliff on recharging through prayer, learn through breakouts for guys and ladies, enjoy a buffet meal and entertainment by comedian Brad Stine, have opportunities to explore Hot Springs, attend game nights onsite (sponsored by the Baptist Trumpet) and soak up some precious fellowship.
For more information and to register today, go to bmaamerica.org/recharge. We can’t wait to see you there!
