How to Care for a Big Church

How does a large church care for its members? That question has captivated our pastors for years.

At College Park Church, God has blessed us with a flock of 2700 members. Shepherding a large congregation is a challenge, but we don’t believe God’s expectation of shepherds diminishes because the church grows. So how do we ensure every member is cared for? How do leaders work together efficiently and effectively? For us, three keys are structure, servants, and strategy.

Structure

Eight years ago, our elders sensed the Lord calling us to a renewed commitment to pastoral care. From a “nickels and noses” perspective, things were going well. But too many sheep were slipping through the cracks. As a result, we deployed a “parish model” to care for our flock. This structure involves segmenting the church geographically and assigning households to elders based on where people live. College Park Church has eight geographic parishes.

The beauty of the parish model is the combination of two powerful forces which facilitate “one another” care: relationships and proximity. No matter how far away you live from your mom, you care for her when she is in need. That’s the relationship factor. The other is proximity. You may not be best friends with your neighbor, but if they have a need, you take them a meal or mow their grass because they’re right next door. We believe deepening relational connections between leaders and members who live near each other builds a culture of care in the church.

Servants

Our early efforts with the parish model were well-intentioned, but more servants were needed to do the work effectively. The ratio of households per elder was overwhelming. Without sacrificing unity or good governance on our elder council, we developed more men as shepherds who could come alongside us. Additionally, we recruited and trained parish deacons to assist elders in checking on members and coordinating practical care. Today, College Park Church has 36 elders and 58 deacons.

Strategy

With the structure and servants in place, we needed a shared vision and strategy. When Paul addressed the Ephesian elders, he reminded them, “The Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God” (Acts 20:28). The Greek word for “care” is sometimes translated as “shepherd.” Using the acronym C.A.R.E., we use four adjectives to describe what we want in our shepherding ministry:

Comprehensive

We want every member to be included in the care of the church. We don’t want anyone slipping through the cracks, exiting the backdoor, or experiencing a significant spiritual need without hearing from a leader.

Achievable

God has entrusted elders with the care of souls, but the church is not the only means by which God provides for his people (1 Tim. 5:8). We set reasonable goals for our elders and deacons so roles are clearly defined and leaders aren’t overwhelmed with expectations.

Responsive

When a member has a significant spiritual need, we want to be there for them. Sin and suffering are disorienting, and God’s means of sustaining faith is a leader who comes alongside the weary with truth and tangible expressions of love. We tell our elders and deacons, “If something happens in someone’s life, do something.”

Engaging

It’s not enough to respond only when people are in need. We want to develop relationships with members on the front end, so we enter into pastoral situations with accrued familiarity and trust.

Five Goals

Having a compelling vision is essential for any ministry, but achieving a mission also requires a clear strategy. Therefore, we developed five C.A.R.E. goals we believe will help us accomplish our vision. They are:

Daily Prayer

Each elder in our church is assigned approximately 45 households to oversee. A deacon or two assists them. We call these household assignments “sub-parishes.” We ask elders and deacons to pray for one household in their sub-parish each day as part of their normal quiet times.

Weekly Connections

We ask elders (with the assistance of deacons) to make at least one meaningful connection with a household in their sub-parish per week. This may involve sending them a text or handwritten card, meeting for coffee or lunch, or simply connecting with them at church on Sunday.

Quarterly Events

At least four times annually for each parish, we provide opportunities for members to engage relationally with elders, deacons, and others in the church who live near them. Examples include Parish Picnics, Donuts with Deacons, Parish Pizza Parties, and temporary small groups called Parish Connect Groups.

Newsletters

Twice per year, we send a newsletter to each parish, informing members of parish events, service opportunities, and how to pray for fellow parishioners.

Always Respond

Since one of our C.A.R.E. objectives is responsiveness, we’ve developed a “toolkit” for elders and deacons to utilize in responding to needs. Among the resources available are service teams of volunteers to help with practical needs such as meal trains, transportation requests, home maintenance, and visitations.

Technology

Another key tool in our strategy is what we call The Shepherding App. This is a custom app we developed that helps elders and deacons access member data, record connection and care notes, deploy service teams, and communicate with each other. The app also helps prioritize households needing a touchpoint and alerts elders and deacons when a member has a care need.

The home screen for the app. This is the first thing people see when logging in or clicking on the home button from anywhere in the app.

Allows the user to create a list of households based upon various attributes (i.e. My Parish, Widows, Homebound, etc.). All other data in the app is driven by the filter(s) selected.

Shows household level data including head(s) of household, children, address, and elder/deacon assignments.

Shows data for each individual including contact info, church involvement, and care notes.

Shows individuals‘ emails.

Pastor Bob Johnson once wrote:

It’s always a challenge to keep the main thing the main thing. I know I have to fight the tendency to become task-oriented rather than people-sensitive. And if the church is growing and we are meeting budget, then it is easy to assume that things are going fine. Does it really matter if one or two (sheep) fall off along the way? But I am reminded that Jesus was not satisfied with the 99 (sheep) when the one got lost.

College Park Church has many ministries to administer, but we constantly remind ourselves that the church isn’t a collection of programs to manage, it’s a flock of people, albeit a big one, to shepherd. Ministry requires us to be task-oriented, but we pray for God’s Spirit to keep us people-sensitive.

It isn’t easy to make a big church feel small. And as our church has grown, shepherding every member has required increasing levels of organizational creativity and intentionality. But with the right structure, servants, and strategy, it’s possible. May the Spirit lead you also as you seek to care for your church.