The Shepherd’s Refuge: Answering God’s Call to Care for Pastors

Have you ever asked God for direction only to have him answer more clearly than you expected?

In the summer of 2023, I took a week of “staycation.” As I began that week, I recorded a short prayer in my journal: “Lord, lead me into what’s next. May I work hard this week in thinking, writing, and praying. Show me the path or at least the next step.” By week’s end, he answered clearly–my assignment as Aylmer EMMC’s Lead Pastor was ending and a new assignment was in store. 

I felt rumblings in the months leading up to this, but no more than at other points in the past. During my 15 years at AEMMC, I regularly sought the Lord about my calling and every time I asked the answer was the same: “Stay.” Each time I stayed, it was not a grudging or half-hearted commitment; I resolved to love the people of the church and lead them as best I could. 

Privately and publicly, I consistently said that if the Lord’s assignment was to stay at AEMMC until I reached 65, that would be fine with me. And if he had something else for me, that would be fine too. When I checked in with him in the summer of 2023, the answer was different for the first time–he had a new assignment for me. 

Seasons of Preparation

God first called me to be a pastor in 2007, and this was a surprise–to me, not to him. He had been covertly preparing me for years. I realized in 2023 that he had been preparing me again. Younger pastors and other church leaders were reaching out to me for help and advice. This consumed more of my time and was God’s way of preparing me for what was next. 

I sensed God leading me into a new ministry focused less on a single, local church and more on the health of many local churches. That week of staycation was the beginning of a big new adventure that came to be called The Shepherd’s Refuge. 

It was a working title at first, but it soon became the permanent name as I discovered more layers of meaning behind it. I pursued the formation of this new ministry with a mix of energy and uncertainty. I always thought that if God called me to move on from AEMMC, it would be into another pastoral position, not to start a new ministry from scratch. 

In October of 2023, I announced my “eventual resignation” to the congregation, and on June 30, 2024 - exactly 11 months after that pivotal week of staycation - I said goodbye to AEMMC as I began a new chapter.

Pressing Pastoral Challenges

Since God called me to undertake this new ministry, I’ve had the privilege of entering into the stories of many pastors and church leaders. Frequently, they are exhausted and all of them need frequent encouragement.

Wartime metaphors come to mind as I look at the landscape of pastoring today - words like: “battleground,” “minefield,” and “casualties” are often used. A Duke University study suggests that 85% of those who train for ministry will leave within five years. If this is even close to being accurate, it should alarm us. These are people pursuing ministry training intending to give their lives in service to Jesus and his church, and within five years, up to 85% of them have already given up.

Barna recently reported that 42% of current pastors have given serious consideration to quitting. Over the last few years, many have resigned - not to pastor elsewhere but to stop pastoring altogether. Barna also found that by 2030, 25% of all current pastors are planning to retire. 

The Evangelical church in North America is suffering a pastoral shortage already, and the worst, it seems, may be yet to come.

Prior to 2007, I never planned to be a local-church pastor; prior to mid-summer 2023, I never planned not to be one.

And yet, today God has called me to help address these concerning trends. He has given me a new assignment that, with prayer and persistence, will offer much-needed care, coaching, and connection to pastors and other ministry leaders.