The Top Reasons Why It’s Painful for Pastors to Lose Church Members

One of the more painful aspects of ministry is losing church members. Sometimes these departures are for good reasons, like moving to another town or planting a church. More often than not, pastors struggle with the reasons why people leave. Josh and Sam discuss why pastors experience pain with the loss of members, and they explore some ways to cope with the accompanying sadness.

1. 1. When people leave the church, it feels personal because it often is.
   2. Most pastors genuinely love their church members, even the difficult ones.
   3. The time invested in people can feel like a waste when they leave for petty reasons.
   4. Morale often drops when well-known people exit.
   5. Pastors fear others will follow the lead of those who left.

Resources:

• “Leadership in a Chaotic World” by Dr. Andrew Walker, Dr. Justin Irving, and Dr. Jeremy Pierre

• Doctor of Ministry, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

• Join Platinum for 1-on-1 and group coaching with Sam. Email sam@churchanswers.com

• FREE Research Report! New Surprising Insights

• Church Answers Central

• The Hope Initiative

Episode Sponsors:

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