Bi-Locational Pastor

I had the privilege of meeting Chris and Kathy Holck at the Boomers and Beyond Conference in Minneapolis last week. Chris contacted me a few weeks ago by email having looked at the website for our Senior Adult Ministry Wild Challenge. He mentioned a church role that I have never heard of, Bi-locational ministry. As he began to explain it to me, I got pretty excited about the idea.

Chris is the Senior Pastor for Faith Evangelical Free Church of Spirit Lake, Iowa. He and Kathy minister in a pretty unique situation. They live and minister in a very nice summer vacation place right near Lake Okobodji. The summer attendance increases pretty significantly with lots of people who own second homes in the area. These people, most of whom are over 50, bring lots of energy and life to the church while they are there, but when the weather begins to turn, they shut down their homes and return to their principal residence where in most cases the weather is more liveable than Iowa in the winter.

Because Chris and Kathy are living and ministering in this context, they have given a lot of thought to the role of a Bi-locational Pastor. The role might be a good fit for a mobile couple who might welcome the opportunity to live in two places for the same reasons that many older adults like to snowbird. Here is how it might work. A church congregation in the warmer, southern parts of the country might grow significantly in the winter in a way similar to places like Spirit Lake swell in the summer. While a church in a place like Florida, Southern California, or Arizona might not have the budget to hire a pastor for their 50 plus group year round, they might be able to afford one for the half of the year when the snowbirds are there. When the weather starts heating up to oven temperatures in the late spring through the early fall, the pastor would move up north and lead the older adult ministry in a summer resort community.

This could create some great win-win situations for certain leaders who might find this kind of ministry desirable, and for the churches who can't afford to pay a full-time 50 plus pastor who would really only work for half of the year. If you had some influential and innovative leaders to do ministries like this, their influence and impact could be incredible. The life and vision for ministry that they could inject into people who, for the most part have a second residence and with that a sphere of influence, is unlimited. Just think of how many churches all over the country could be influenced by the two churches the bi-locational pastor would lead.

I think this idea has great merit. I have just sown the thought to a few friends who lead in Older Adult Ministry, and the typical response is, "Where do I sign up for something like this?" One of the biggest surprises I found in the research I have been doing in this area is that most churches who have a significant number of seasonal attenders can't wait until they start showing up. I was with a couple in October of last year that leads the older adults in a church in Clearwater, Florida. I asked if it bugged them that the snowbirds took up parking places and seats in their church, and time and energy from the leadership that they would prefer for other year round residents. Their response to me was emphatically, "Not at all. Each year we can hardly wait until they show up." For the most part the seasonal residents bring a positive energy and presence to the churches they attend. For the most part they get at least as involved if not more involved than the average year-round member.

This would make the Bi-locational pastor role just that more attractive. You would work with perhaps the healthiest and most mobile people in this cohort. They would most likely be men and women who with lots of good life and professional experience that could be harnessed for the kingdom. The leader who can get them excited about investing their second half years to significantly impact the kingdom could unleash these older adults in unimaginable ways. Each couple like this in each of the two congregations lives in another place where they would take whatever their passion is and spread it to their other church community, friends, and colaborers.

If you could chose two places to be a bi-locational pastor, which would you chose? As for me, I don't know that much about the summer resorts in the North. I'd have to do some scouting. As for the winter places, I'd love to be in Palm Desert or somewhere in the greater Phoenix area.