A Handbook For Part-Time Ministry

A HANDBOOK FOR PART TIME MINISTRY

REV. DR. RANDOLPH LEGASSIE

SMASHWORDS EDITION

Copyright 2015 Randolph F. Legassie

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Forward

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Definitions

Beginning the process

Defining the work time and benefits package

Defining the ministry setting

Designing the financial package

The job description

Developing a job description

Part-time job descriptions

Job descriptions for churches already involved in part-time ministry

Time management for part-time pastors

Ethics of part-time ministry

Maintenance and Vision

Resources

Appendices

Downsizing Ministry

FORWARD

I first met Randy Legassie when I was completing my theological studies at Acadia Divinity College and he arrived on the campus of Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia to pursue his Bachelor of Arts degree. In the years that have passed since the early 1970’s there has been a host of experiences which have deepened my respect for, and appreciation of, this faithful servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Randy, and his wife, Elizabeth, gained valuable cross-cultural experience through a term of missionary service under the auspices of Canadian Baptist International Ministries with the African Brotherhood Church in Mitaboni, Kenya. Upon returning to Canada, Randy was able to complete his Doctor of Ministry degree. After another year in Kenya with Canadian Baptist Ministries, he began serving as half-time pastor for the Canning United Baptist Church in 1991. Later, he was able to meld his love for teaching with the practice of ministry when he became an adjunct faculty member at Acadia Divinity College while also serving part-time as pastor with the Clementsport/Deep Brook United Baptist Churches where he served from 1994 to 2011. Consequently, for over sixteen years, Randy exercised the disciplines and honed the skills that enabled him to be a healthy pastor and a faithful servant of Jesus Christ who committed himself to part-time pastoral ministry. His wife has been a bi-vocational person who is also committed to part-time pastoral ministry. Together they returned to Kenya to offer their educational gifts and pastoral experience in the development of Christian leaders until their return to Canada in August of 2014.

Today the churches of Canada face an environment that is radically different from the times when many of these churches were organized a century or more ago. Some have benefited and grown through the developments and changes that urbanization has delivered. Others have suffered and declined as populations have moved from agricultural areas, fishing villages and small towns to urban centers in Canada, in the USA, and around the globe. Consequently many churches in Canada and elsewhere have found themselves unable to support a full-time pastor. Hence part-time ministry has become a reality for both ordained and lay pastors in the twenty-first century.

In a 2006 New Year’s letter which I sent as Regional Minister to my pastoral colleagues in Region 2 of the Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches (The Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia), I noted that Part-time ministry is a reality for sixty percent of our congregations in Region 2 (24 on pastorates & 20 solo). This statistic sparked the interest of my friend and part-time pastor, Rev. Dr. Randolph F. Legassie. So throughout the ensuing year he devoted himself to compiling his research and recording his experiences into a published Handbook for Part-time Ministry that many pastors and church leaders found most helpful and enlightening as they participated in the dynamics of part-time ministry. That text has been revised by the author and now is available in this new format so that you too may benefit from the insights shared by a competent part-time pastor.

Ronald G. Baxter

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book is a revised and updated version of a handbook I prepared in 2006 for distribution among part-time pastors within the Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches (CABC). At that time, over 60% of the pastors leading churches in what was then Region 2 of the CABC were serving congregations in a part-time capacity. Since I had been serving as a part time pastor for several years at that time and was on my second part-time pastorate, I volunteered to write something to help other part-time pastors and congregations, many of whom were very new to the process. A few years after the original printing was distributed, there were people who were interested in obtaining a copy of the book. However, because the original book was a bit dated and had been prepared for one specific denomination, I decided to prepare this revised and updated version for wider distribution.

The production of the original handbook involved a great many people who willingly contributed time and advice. Their suggestions and comments made both the original and this updated handbook much stronger and is greatly appreciated. Rev. Ron Baxter, then the Regional Minister for Region 2 of CABC, prompted the initial idea for the handbook with a comment made in a newsletter dated January 1, 2006. His continued involvement, encouragement, wisdom and support have been invaluable both for the original version and this revision.

The members and adherents of the Canning United Baptist Church and the Clementsport/Deep Brook Baptist Pastorate provided a wonderful base for developing an understanding of the dynamics of part-time ministry.

As well, the pastors and church members who filled out a questionnaire on part-time ministry I prepared provided valuable baseline data that helped bring into focus areas of concern that might have been missed otherwise.

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