I deal with churches when they lose their pastor. They are in transition. Often it is a time of anxiety, when at the same time we as denominational leaders are seeing the pool of interims dry up.

What would our churches look like if at a time of transition, rather than hiring an interim pastor, we took all that money and spent it on food? What would it look like if our interim/transitional ministry was all about feeding bodies and feeding souls?

Free food. Every time we gather. For all. Maybe a donation basket. Maybe not.

I get the sense that our churches would grow. And the food would not be as expensive as we thought when we started adding back the donations. I’m also guessing that by the time we found a new pastor, we would have a lot more people committed to our church’s vision, and that money would not be as much of a worry as it was before. What an opportunity this could be, for our sessions and church leaders, to grow in grace, capacity, and organizational leadership.

-Matt