Growth can hurt as well as help.

Join me with Russ Shearer as he tells his story of both lagging finances and leadership base as his church suddenly grew to 150 percent of pre-COVID attendance. This is a crazy good story that reveals the ups and downs of God's blessing.

Russ is a seasoned church planter who moved to Peoria, Illinois a few years prior to COVID. The church Russ pastors was given a new campus just prior to the pandemic. Another congregation closed an extension site handing the facility to Ignite Church.

They picked up a few members from the previous operation and the Ignite congregation began evangelizing and inviting friends. The post-lockdown climate became somewhat frenzied with the need to train leaders and start microchurches. All of which is being compounded by lagging finances. Russ is the only full-time employee and it will take several months for giving to catch up to growth.

To top this, Ignite Church just inherited another campus at no cost. They're busy preparing a church plant in that facility. God is piling blessings on Russ and his congregation. But blessings can become stressors if they come too quickly.

Anxiety dogs most pastors at one time or another and Russ is no exception. You'll be moved and encouraged by his struggles and his overcoming spirit.

You can catch up with Russ at https://www.ignitechurch.org.

NOTE: If you're struggling with anxiety you might find solace and direction in my short book Defeating Anxiety.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.