AREA CHURCHES SEARCH FOR PASTORS (SERVING GOD)

The pastor's office at First Baptist Church in Jackson has been vacant for the past three years.

Editor's note: This is the final story in a four-part series featuring area pastors and churches.

The pastor's office may be empty, but the ministries remain strong at First Baptist Church in Jackson and Christ Episcopal Church in Cape Girardeau.

Both churches are in the midst of a search for new leadership, but few people could tell because activities and regular worship schedules are still in place.

Members at First Baptist Church are preparing for their fourth annual Easter pageant. This is the third consecutive year they have performed it without a pastor.

Although a church never hopes to be without a pastor or priest, the situation does occasionally occur. In the area, there are about five churches without full-time pastors. However, many have hired interim pastors or have members who preach on Sundays.

"It has been very difficult, but we are not a sinking ship," said the Rev. Jim Raney, music minister for the Jackson church.

The church has been without a full-time pastor since its former pastor accepted a job with another church three years ago. Since then the church has rallied together and shouldered the extra responsibilities, Raney said.

"We are very much in unity and have had days of prayer specifically for unity and harmony in the church and for the person who will come," he said. "The Lord is working and we don't know the plan yet."

For many members, losing a pastoral leader is sometimes easier to take than the waiting involved in a search.

"People grieve because a pastor leaves or dies," said Stephen Naeter, senior warden at Christ Episcopal Church. Naeter is one of many church members who have taken on leadership roles since the church's pastor left last fall.

"It's not the same where you can walk in the office and schedule an appointment, but it's also a time when the family pulls together," he said. "You never hope you are without, but there are times when you are."

The times without a pastor can be very stressful and trying for a congregation. Members have to re-evaluate what characteristics they want in a leader and find applicants for the job. The search often takes up to a year at the very least.

But, "the loss of any person, including the pastor, should not cripple a church," said the Rev. Roy Jones, director of missions for the Cape Girardeau Baptist Association.

Members can use the time to grow closer together and focus on what is best for the congregation. Often they will seek help from denomination leadership. Jones offers a resource to area Southern Baptist congregations.

Christ Episcopal Church contacted the area diocese when its pastor accepted a job at another church.

The diocese leaders helped members establish guidelines for how to conduct a search, how to complete a parish profile, and then sent the results to a national network, Naeter explained.

"We can pull our resources together," he said. "It's not like we can just say 'Here's a guy who is available.' We try to match up what the parish wants."

In the meantime, a supply of clergy, usually from St. Louis, comes for Holy Eucharist services about every two weeks. Hiring an interim priest is also a possibility for the church, Naeter said.

The interim helps a church heal and move from one pastor to another, he said. "We are hoping that with a lot of hard work and great things happening, we will have a priest by the Christmas holidays."

First Baptist members don't have any timetable for hiring a new pastor. The church has been seeking candidates and inviting them to preach.

"We have to keep reminding ourselves that we are not on man's timetable," said Rick Sparks, deacon chairman at the church. "This is God's timetable and three years is not such a long time in the sight of God."

The church did have an interim minister for nearly two years, but he recently left for health reasons. Other full-time staff members have helped take up the slack by visiting members in hospitals or people who are new to the church, Sparks said.

"Our membership has held up and baptisms have held up," he said. "We don't follow a pastor. We are here at this church for the fellowship with other believers."