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Healthy Vision

Grace Forward

Throughout the decades, the Grace Gospel Fellowship has served pastors and churches in small towns and big cities throughout the country. Our focus is three-fold—healthy pastors, healthy boards, and healthy churches. We have committed 100% of our resources to these efforts. Yet much of our efforts take place “under the surface”—foundational work to come alongside pastors to support their roles as shepherd and leader—encouraging and equipping board members in their work of guiding and overseeing the health of their pastors and congregations.

There are many indicators of health. Our three-fold purpose is to foster health in the local church in three important realms:

Healthy Pastors. Healthy Boards. Healthy Churches.

Pastoral health includes a variety of aspects of life: spiritual, relational, vocational, physical, and mental well-being. The sacred calling of being a pastor can bring a heavy burden—loneliness, isolation, spiritual warfare—as well as the many risks and cautions that come with leadership (family and marital stress, physical and mental strain, etc.). We work with pastors to provide them with mentoring relationships with other Grace Gospel Fellowship pastors, as well as provide resources to support their biblical scholarship and financial future.

What does a “healthy pastor” look like? They serve and lead with confidence, knowing that their board and congregation support the work they’re doing. They have a thriving relationship with God, their family, and their church community. They are spiritually accountable to and for people in their life and throughout their journey. Our goal is that all of our pastors are being served and cared for by their boards, and congregations, and intentionally resourced by the Grace Gospel Fellowship.

It is a common saying that “Many great pastors have been exhausted by well-meaning boards.” Board work—stewarding the local church at a leadership level—is challenging. This calling requires spiritual maturity and a strong biblical understanding of the roles asked of those who serve in this capacity. Those roles include being responsible for the church’s finances, properties, and even risk management.

What does a “healthy board” look like? Healthy and vibrant boards have a learning and growing community of board members who are engaged in the oversight of the spiritual health of their pastor and congregation. Board members seek to build a peaceful, meaningful, and worshipful environment in and out of the board room. The Grace Gospel Fellowship board members around the country as they seek to develop their abilities to better serve their congregations. Our goal is that every board—and every board member—is provided support and guidance to become their very best in their key ministry responsibilities.

When a church has a healthy pastor and a healthy board, it has the greatest capacity and potential to demonstrate health as a church.

What does a “healthy church” look like? In healthy churches, lives are changing, communities are being served, marriages are being strengthened, life-on-life ministry is taking place, and people are growing closer to Jesus Christ. Here we are not describing the perfect church, but simply a church that is growing together for the life of the world around them.

Healthy churches are most often a byproduct of healthy boards ensuring the overall health of their respective pastors.

Healthier

Together

We can see western culture continuing its sprint away from God, and at the same time, the desperate need for churches to be that “light on a hill” and “salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13-20). Imagine this for a moment with me:

A future where you can walk into any GGF church in the country and find a well-equipped pastor working in close unity with their board as it shepherds its congregation and actively serves its community, while also engaged in fellowship and mentoring with the pastors, boards, and congregations in GGF churches around the US and throughout the world. Each pastor has a retirement plan that is building personal mentors caring for them as they commit toward their sacred calling. In each church, there is a firm and scholarly understanding of the message of God’s Grace throughout the congregation as it reflects Christ outwardly. In each congregation, there is a commitment and culture of discipleship and compassion taking place throughout where young people are being guided and mentored to become Christ-centered leaders, teachers, and servants for their family, workplace, and community, and where people are diligently seeking to know Christ better.

This vision of such a future is what drives our daily efforts at the Grace Gospel Fellowship. We are committed to pursuing this future with you and alongside you.