Weathering Vacancies Well

By Stacey Eising

Nearly 1 in 5 LCMS congregations is currently in a pastoral vacancy. I spoke with several LCMS district presidents, circuit visitors and vacancy pastors to learn more about vacancies and how to navigate them. What follows is a summary of what I heard.

The Challenges

Pastoral vacancies can bring many challenges. Right away, many questions arise: What pastor or pastors will cover the vacancy? Will we have to change our service times? Who is going to visit shut-ins? As the vacancy goes on, certain expectations may also give way to painful realities. “There can be an expectancy when a congregation first goes into the vacancy that they will … have a pastor within about six months. And the reality is, a fast call process would be a year to 18 months,” said the Rev. Dr. Michael Von Behren, president of the LCMS Northwest District.

Finding coverage for a vacancy can be a challenge anywhere — but especially in districts with many remote or rural communities, or where LCMS congregations are located far apart. Maine, for instance, has just three LCMS congregations, two of which form a dual parish. “Being out in … the ‘far end’ of the LCMS, there are not many retired pastors available to help cover these vacancies,” said the Rev. Robert Beinke, New England District president. “People don’t retire to New England; they retire out of New England for the most part.” In the Rocky Mountain District, it can be hours between congregations. Currently, a pastor from Colorado drives two-and-a-half hours one way every other week to serve a vacant congregation in Moab, Utah. His is the closest LCMS congregation to Moab. Often, such situations require non-traditional vacancy coverage: pulpits may be filled on a week-by-week basis rather than by one vacancy pastor, or a few pastors may divide up duties in the congregation — one conducting services, another attending council meetings, etc.

Further, calling the next pastor can be a challenging and lengthy process. Smaller congregations may struggle to put together an adequate compensation package. Congregations in rural or remote areas, or in areas with a less concentrated LCMS presence, may have trouble finding a pastor willing to move there. “It’s hard to ask a man who is from Wisconsin or Minnesota or the Upper Midwest to come to the middle of Mississippi or the middle of Alabama,” said the Rev. Eric Johnson, president of the Southern District.

Many other challenges can arise: Members, even longtime members, can get “lost in the shuffle” and become disconnected from the church during a vacancy. Congregations can fail to be flexible on things like service times, making coverage difficult. And a vacancy can be a ripe environment for conflict, with fear and stress running high, and without a pastor in place to mediate and guide.

Weathering a Vacancy

While vacancies pose real challenges, the district presidents and pastors I interviewed had great advice on how congregations can come together and weather them well.

Be Flexible. Again and again, those I spoke to listed this as the first priority. Be willing to move your service time if it means more opportunities to receive Word and Sacrament from a pastor. Be flexible with different coverage arrangements. Be open, even, regarding what you want in your next pastor. “Really this gets back to, how flexible are the people of God willing to be? What are they willing to give up? … Sometimes, the congregations can have so much care and coverage, but they’re just not willing to change their sacred Sunday morning service time,” said the Rev. James Maxwell, president of the Rocky Mountain District.

Get Involved, Laypeople and Lay Leaders. “The wrong attitude is, ‘I’m going to get back to serving in the church once we get a pastor on-site,’” said the Rev. Mark Bertermann, a pastor in the Northwest District who has served two vacancies in three years of retirement. Vacancies afford a wonderful opportunity for people in the congregation to get involved and for lay leaders to guide and encourage. Laypeople can plan services and hymns, print and fold bulletins, visit shut-ins and the sick, count offerings/make sure the books are in order, serve as ushers, decorate for Christmas and Easter, shovel walks, get the mail, pray for one another, and more. Times of vacancy can also renew parents in their role of teaching the faith to their children at home.

Elders and other male congregational leaders can lead Bible studies (many studies are available from Concordia Publishing House); teach catechism class; and lead services of the Word, reading a sermon written by a pastor. (Maxwell recommends sermons written epistle-style, in the form of letters, from a pastor to the congregation.) Congregational leaders can identify laypeople who might serve well in certain capacities and encourage them to do so. Most important, they can continue to point the people to Christ and encourage them to faithfulness. “A vacancy helps the baptized flex their spiritual muscles. It is good for training and the uplifting of the saints. … I’ve talked to a number of elders who have said, ‘I’ve never grown in my faith more than in this vacancy,’” said the Rev. Brady Finnern, president of the Minnesota North District. The Rev. Doug Thompson accepted a call to a dual parish in northwestern Minnesota six years ago. The parish had been through a long vacancy, but the people had not been idle. “The people rose up, especially the elders — in going and visiting shut-ins, lay-led Bible studies. … When I got here, the laity were doing things that the pastor didn’t have to do. And they are still doing those things. Should another vacancy come, they already have those things in place.”

Pastors can help by equipping the Body of Christ when the congregation is not vacant. “We want our pastors to equip the people. Sometimes it’s just easier to do it yourself than to try to call people and get people organized. But it’s really of help and value when those extra phone calls are made,” said the Rev. Justin Panzer, president of the Kansas District.

Carry on as a Congregation. Congregations “should scale back on some things,” but shouldn’t “just close the doors completely and show up only on Sunday morning,” said Maxwell. Where possible, keep congregational activities going — or even take the opportunity to start new ones. Most importantly, remain faithful in attending worship and Bible studies. “The task [of a vacant congregation] is to be faithful in the meantime. It is a time not to scatter and run to a church that has a called pastor on-site, but to remain together, encourage one another, and look forward together to God’s supplying,” said Bertermann. It is also appealing to a pastor considering a call to see that he will be “stepping into a moving vehicle,” rather than seeing that “things have come to a screeching halt, and he’s going to have to start from scratch,” said Bertermann.

Communicate. Overcommunicating is crucial during a time of vacancy to avoid confusion, conflict, anxiety and having members “slip through the cracks.” Find what works best for your congregation — emails, letters, text threads, social media, bulletin inserts, extra meetings or any combination of the above — and keep everyone regularly informed on the call committee and their work, on worship times and other calendar items, on dates for upcoming voters’ meetings, on financial matters, etc. Also communicate who is visiting homebound members, conducting funerals and taking emergency calls. “The laity are going to want to know who to call in time of need,” said Panzer. Laypeople can help by regularly checking in on the people they know personally. “You all probably know five families pretty well in this church. That’s your group to keep connection with. Pray for them. Find ways to invite them to continue to come to worship,” said Finnern.

Explore Partnerships. A vacancy is a great time to explore opportunities to work together. “A vacancy may be the first tangible, unavoidable step in re-evaluating, ‘What does ministry look like in this place now?’ … I think the default for a lot of people is, ‘We’re going to preserve as much of what we’re familiar with as we can, for as long as we possibly can.’ … Is this the time to think a little bit differently about how to sustain ministry in this area as a whole, even if it doesn’t necessarily mean that we can sustain ministry in this building at 9:30 a.m. like we’re used to?” said the Rev. Robert Morris, a circuit visitor in the New England District who has served many vacancies.

Many LCMS congregations have entered formal partnerships, such as multi-congregation parishes. The Kansas District has developed resources to help congregations think through potential partnership models, available at kslcms.org/partnerships.

Opportunities for “informal” partnerships also abound. Local congregations with pastors can serve their brothers and sisters in vacant congregations immensely by being generous with their pastor’s time, especially in areas with few retired pastors. Consider encouraging your pastor to visit a nearby underserved vacant congregation once every two months and holding a lay-led service of the Word in your congregation on those Sundays. “We can get territorial and protective as congregations. But when you’re willing to ask questions like, ‘How can we serve them at this time?’, that is going to bear fruit for generations to come,” said Finnern.

Make Good Use of the Time. “Congregations going into a vacancy have an opportunity to evaluate who they are and where they see themselves going. … We see the fruit of that: Congregations can become re-energized, especially after a longer pastorate,” said Johnson. Consider new congregational activities you could start. Spend extra time together in the Word of God. Take care of deferred maintenance on the parsonage or consider updates. Start a church worker care team, which can be easier to get off the ground while vacant.

Raise Up Future Pastors. A vacancy can be a great catalyst for a congregation to encourage the young men in their midst to consider the pastoral ministry. Those in districts with less of an LCMS presence may also consider the value of raising up pastors from their area who may be eager to return and, eventually, retire there.

Love One Another. The stresses of vacancy and the absence of a full-time shepherd can lead to conflict. Work on peace and cooperation in your congregation. Have grace for one another. Show gratitude and support for your vacancy pastor or pastors, and encourage your district president and circuit visitor as they seek to help many congregations through the call process at once.

Pray and Read God’s Word. “Pray fervently. Spend at least as much time in prayer and Scripture as you spend discussing finances,” said the Rev. John Pingel, president of the Eastern District. Make sure to set aside time for the most important things: praying together — for one another, for your next pastor, for your vacancy pastors, for your district president and circuit visitor, for the other congregations in your district and Synod; and gathering together to read God’s Word, even when you don’t have a pastor there with you on Sunday. Consider praying for God to send you a pastor each week as a regular item in your Prayer of the Church.

Take Heart. “This is not your church, it’s Christ’s. Christ builds His church, and … He knows the needs of every congregation more than they themselves do. So, though a vacancy may be uncomfortable, you are not without hope. Christ is there with you in Word and Sacrament, and He will carry you through. … He’s at work quietly, sometimes slowly from our perspective, but always faithfully. So, we continue steadfast in prayer and the Word, encouraging one another and confident in hope,” said Thompson.

The Blessings

God can work blessings even through the challenges that accompany vacancies. Vacancies can raise up a strong laity, engaged and active in the work of the church. They can bring re-energizing self-evaluation that leads to healthy new life in the congregation. They can lead to closer camaraderie and connection within a congregation. “You went through something together — there’s a bond that’s formed by that,” said Morris. They can remind a congregation of the blessing that a pastor is, when they are forced to be without one for a time.

Times of vacancy can also refocus a congregation, and even a Synod, on those things that are most important. “Dealing with vacancies, especially in small congregations — it’s a struggle, it’s an ongoing one. It’s in all of our districts,” said Beinke. “I do think we are at a time where we really need to get back to what is the church and whose is the church, to get our focus off of ourselves and our own congregation — to see the larger picture, and how blessed we are in Christ to be able to have a pastor and be able to worship. Where and when you do so is secondary. If we can get that into our minds and hearts, that will help us to better serve one another and help one another as we navigate these issues.”

What is church? Vacancies can help remind us, said Finnern: “That’s where I go to receive the gifts. That’s where I bring my prayers and petitions to the Lord. … That’s where I receive the forgiveness of sins and am encouraged and exhorted to holy living. Whether it’s Saturday night, or Thursday night, or Sunday at 2 p.m., church is where I receive all that.”