Transitioning From Youth to Missions Pastor

Chris Conner is the Missions And Outreach Pastor at Mountaintop Community Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Chris shares his insight after transitioning from Youth Minister to Missions and Outreach Pastor and the lessons he’s learned along the way.

Chris Conner is the Missions And Outreach Pastor at Mountaintop Community Church in Birmingham, Alabama. But that’s not the role Chris was originally hired for. Chris began his ministry and Mountaintop Community as the Youth Pastor. He shares the lessons he’s learned through this transition.

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First, keep your expectations realistic. It’s great to dream big. And we serve a God who does big things. But we also need to understand that He’s working a plan that’s bigger than us and our church. So, we can dream big, but plan realistically.

Second, embrace the unexpected. Chris had no idea that a fourth of his first year in this role would be functioning as a general contractor for another church’s vision of opening a coffee house for their community. But I know Chris wouldn’t trade that experience for following the plan he had in place when the year began.

And finally, take time at the end of every year to look back, and adjust your expectations and plans going forward. There are great lessons to be learned when we see what God has done and prayerfully ask what He wants us to do moving into the future.

Learn More About Mountaintop Community Church

WHAT IS THE MISSIONS PASTOR PODCAST?

Welcome to The Missions Pastor Podcast, presented by OneChild. OneChild is a global community of Child Champions that serves children in poverty so they can discover hope and reach their God-given potential. We believe that the local church has the message of Hope that the world desperately needs to hear. And in every episode, we highlight churches, pastors, and ministries who are working to bring that HOPE to hard places.

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