1.) The Pastoral Staff are real pastors. Last week, our executive pastor preached a great sermon (really great) and a parishioner came to me afterward and basically said, “Oh I was hoping my real pastor would have preached today.” I reminded this member that a real pastor did preach– and preached a great sermon. At Central Church, we have 11 pastors on staff. 10 have a master’s degrees and after this year all but two will be ordained. They are trained, experienced and able to lead.

2. ) Summers are crazy (especially) if you are involved in student ministries. Camps + Mission Trips + 6th and 7th Grade Escapes + Vacation Bible School + District Assemblies + General Assembly = very little time for one’s family. One pastor came home from camp and had her hair covered in mayonnaise for an hour because of a lice outbreak at camp. (That’s going above and beyond the call of duty!) Remember to pray for our pastoral staff’s families.

3.) Volunteer Pastors are my heroes. We have three pastors who receive no salary from Central church– and yet they serve with distinction. Working a full time job outside of the church, these heroes of mine give their spare time to the service of the Lord (FYI our volunteer pastors all have a Masters of Divinity from Nazarene Theological Seminary. All will be ordained after this year. Two are elders and one is a deacon).

4.) Our Pastors are called by God, serve him well and are very talented. This summer our Senior High Pastor spoke at a camp in Maryland; the Cross cultural pastor spoke at a camp in Mexico; the Middle School pastor directed the district Teen Camp and our Executive Pastor’s wife directed 3rd and 4th grade camp. Earlier this year our Children’s pastor spoke at a Children’s pastor’s leadership training and spoke at a workshop at General Assembly. Our Executive Pastor is the brains behind the EPIC curriculum at NPH. We have a sought after and talented bunch.

5.) The pastoral staff regularly prays for you. Every Tuesday morning some of the pastors and usually a board member gather at the altar at 7 AM to pray for the needs of Central and for you. They pray on Sunday mornings and during staff meetings too. They pray at different times for you. The staff understands our first order is to be people of prayer.

All this to say, we are blessed by the pastoral staff at Central and I am blessed to work with them.