How do I know if my time at my church is up? I feel like God may be moving me but I want to be sure.
Scripture indicates that “. . . God has set the members, each one of them, in the body, just as he pleased” (1 Corinthians 12:18). This certainly includes its pastoral staff! Just as God leads people to a church, only He can lead people away from one. At times we assume that if the church is not what we thought it was, or problems arise, or people are not as responsive to our leadership as we hoped they would be, it must indicate God wants us to move on. However, God knew perfectly well what the church was like when He called us to it! He is never caught by surprise when problems arise or opposition manifests itself. God knew that was coming and He called you there anyway! Just as Moses’ situation in Egypt first got worse before it got better, so you may initially experience resistance if you try to move people on to God’s agenda. Remember, your calling is primarily to obey and to glorify God, not to implement your plans upon your congregation! At times you can bring more glory to God by your Christ-like response to undeserved criticism than you can by leading a problem-free church. Don’t allow your critics’ voices to ring louder than God’s. Stay focused on God and what He called you to do. Meet with Him regularly and He will accomplish His purposes through your life. [Also check out the article on this same subject in the articles section].
Too many people wait too long before leaving. They like where they are, but don’t want to grow in order to help their church grow. They are coasting to the peril of their congregation. Others leave for the wrong reasons when they should have stayed. Knowing when to go depends on one’s relationship to the Spirit of God who guides us to know His will. In my case, each time I have made a transition in ministry, God has “released” me from a ministry by closing the vision he has given me and moving my heart away from the people. The last transition I made took 2yrs for Him to reveal the next place, but we continued to serve faithfully even though both my wife and I knew God was moving us. Those were frustrating days at times, but our trust was in God, and not in our own timing or agenda.