Pastoral Care at SBCRC (Part 1): A New Model
WHAT “PASTORAL CARE” REFERS TO HERE
We should begin by recognizing that there are different levels of pastoral care. My focus in this post is on pastoral care at a more basic level– the process whereby the leadership (i.e. the council and pastoral staff) keeps in touch with the individuals and families within the congregation and remains alert to particular needs. When I was in campus ministry, we called this “contact work.”
Ideally, this kind of thing should just happen organically, naturally. Back when everyone went to the same neighborhood church, it probably did happen like that. You could just go for a walk and chat with members raking the lawn, playing catch with their kids, or sipping lemonade on the porch. However, we represent not just a number of different neighborhoods but cities and, in fact, states– at last count, two. So either we need pastors and council members interested in walking marathons or we need a system.
HOW THIS KIND OF PASTORAL CARE HAD BEEN DONE
Previous to this year, this was the system: the congregation was divided into groups by last name. These were called “care districts” and each was assigned an elder, a deacon, and a Companion in Christ (or CIC) . As part of monthly council meetings, the three of them would discuss how people in that group were doing and offer a prayer together for them.
Before describing changes to our pastoral care model, we should acknowledge the blessing that doing pastoral care this way has been to our congregation. More specifically, thanks goes to the leadership of Dan Triezenberg, who not only chaired the Congregational Care Team but provided training workshops each month for council members and CICs.
PASTORAL CARE AND THE WEATHER REPORT
When we created The Weather Report in 2008, it initiated this congregation into a time of transition. One of the priorities of that report was the strengthening of small groups. To accomplish this requires more than just making them another program on the church calendar. They have to become integral to the way life operates within the church. Toward this end, they are becoming central to how we do ground level pastoral care. Elders and deacons, in other words, no longer oversee a district but rather attend a small group. Those are the people with whom they remain in contact.
The strengths and weaknesses of this are relatively obvious. The most immediate strength is that, while still “a system” of sorts, it feels more natural. You’re less likely to simply offer information about particular needs to your elder or deacon, more likely to form a friendship. You’re in regular, meaningful contact with one another.
There are weaknesses to overcome. First of all, it is going to take time before we can distribute council members throughout the groups. Ultimately we would like to be in a position where there is at least one elder in each group. (Part 3 in this series will offer a fuller description of what the council member’s role in a small group looks like.)
Second and maybe more importantly, not everyone is (or can be) in a small group. It is not realistic to assume that we will ever get 100% involvement. The next post in this series will describe the measures being taken to fill those cracks in the system and ensuring that those not in small groups don’t fall through them. However, even as we recognize this limitation to the model, we will conclude this post by this bit of encouraging news: about 70% of the church community is currently in a small group. We are deeply appreciative of your commitment to ministering to one another in that way.
POSTS IN THIS SERIES
Pastoral Care at SBCRC (Part 2): Filling in the Cracks
Pastoral Care at SBCRC (Part 3): Council Members in Small Groups (To be Completed)
Pastoral Care at SBCRC (Part 4): Levels of Pastoral Care (To be Completed)