by Brian Dollar

No two lead pastors are the same. Leaders have different life experiences, gifts, personalities, and ministry visions. Whether you are a volunteer or church staff member, here are ten principles to keep in mind as you serve under your pastor’s leadership.

1. Pray

Make it a point to pray daily for your lead pastor and his or her family. I regularly ask the Lord to give our lead pastor wisdom, spiritual vitality, and health as he guides our congregation, serves our community, and cares for his family. Praying for your lead pastor will increase your appreciation of him or her and inevitably ease frustrations during difficult seasons.

2. Take Ownership

It’s important not only to understand the pastor’s vision, but also to own it. Be sure the ministries you lead are in step with your pastor’s heart. When your lead pastor’s vision becomes your own, you can serve effectively together as partners in ministry.

3. Follow the Leader

Honor your pastor’s preferences, even if they’re not your own. Because our relationship is based on trust and respect, I’m happy to yield to my pastor. I don’t consider it a pain or strain to follow his lead. It’s just another way to honor the person God has called me to minister alongside.

4. Volunteer to Be Held Accountable

In my relationship with my lead pastor, I am determined to volunteer accountability instead of waiting for him to demand it from me.

One day, my pastor found out about an incident in my ministry area I had failed to mention. He was perplexed to hear about it from someone other than me. When he called me into his office, he had to be an investigator, trying to find out what happened, instead of a partner, helping to resolve it. I realized my silence had forced him into this unpleasant role.

Don’t turn your pastor into a detective. Take the initiative to talk about problems before they become bigger issues. If you’re going to be late, call. When something goes wrong, say so. If a problem arises that could affect other ministries, provide a heads-up.

5. Stay Correctable

Insecurity can cause volunteers or staff members to react defensively during times of correction. No one is above correction, however, and we can all learn to handle it with grace.

Correcting your actions or methods is not the same as questioning your character. Instead of becoming defensive, take a deep breath, view correction as an opportunity to grow, and learn from the challenge.

6. Present a United Front

It’s OK to disagree with your lead pastor in private, but not in public. In any working relationship, people will have different opinions and plans. But the person in charge is ultimately responsible for making the call.

While it is important to give feedback (and even periodic pushback) to your pastor, it should happen privately, with honor and respect. Disagreements should never take place in a public setting.

7. Communicate

A key component of any healthy relationship is good communication. Update your pastor regularly about what is happening in your area of ministry. Include him or her in email summaries of meetings. Reach out if a problem arises. When a schedule change might affect your pastor or others on staff, provide ample notice.

In most cases, such communication can take the form of “FYI” emails. Lead pastors don’t have to respond to every message, but they want to stay informed. Being blindsided by a situation someone should have mentioned earlier is the last thing they want.

8. Avoid Hypotheticals

Resist the thought, If only I were in charge. Some volunteers and staff daydream about being the boss. They’re sure they could handle the church better than the pastor does. But if we fully understood the stress of the position, we’d all have a new appreciation for our pastors.

When you start thinking you’re wiser than the person God called to lead the congregation, check your pride. And be thankful you don’t carry the burden of being the one in charge.

9. Practice Honesty

It can be tempting to exaggerate good things that happen so we can look better or impress people, while downplaying bad things to avoid looking foolish. These partial truths are also partial lies, designed to save face by providing enough information to avoid falsehood but not enough to expose our mistakes. Telling the truth—the whole truth, the first time—saves everyone a lot of trouble.

10. Express Appreciation

It’s important not only to be thankful for the people God places in your life, but also to express it in a way that communicates your heart. For appreciation to be received, it must be sincere. Ask God for grace to see past imperfections and appreciate the opportunity to partner with your pastor in ministry.

Regardless of your ministry situation, always keep an eternal perspective in view. In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he wrote, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23–24).

Brian Dollar is associate pastor at First Assembly of God in North Little Rock, Arkansas, where he serves alongside lead pastor Rod Loy. This article appeared in the winter 2024 issue of Influence magazine.