08/20/2026
Brother Randy has been working with one of our churches over the past several weeks, during their time of transition without pastoral leadership.
In encouraging them to establish a habit of outreach and inviting the community to worship with them, he was recently asked, “What do we have to invite people to? We don’t even have a pastor.”
But people are not ultimately being invited to a pastor. They are being invited to Christ, His people, His Word, and a church that is seeking Him together. In fact, the transition itself can become part of the invitation.
You can invite people to a church seeking God for its future. There is something meaningful about saying, “We are in a season of transition. We don’t have everything figured out, but we do not believe that God is finished with us.”
You can invite them to a genuine Christian community. A small church may not have a full ministry calendar, polished programs, or a permanent preacher, but it can offer something deeply biblical: people who know one another, pray for one another, care for one another, and notice when someone walks through the door.
You can invite them to worship and the Word. The absence of a pastor does not mean the absence of preaching, Scripture, prayer, testimony, singing, and worship. Different guest preachers or leaders can actually expose the congregation to a variety of faithful voices during the transition.
You can invite them to help build something rather than merely attend something. This may be one of the strongest invitations a transitioning church has. Instead of saying, “Come see everything we offer,” the invitation becomes: “Come help us become the church God wants us to be.”
That is a very different appeal. Some people are not looking for another large church with every program already established. They may be looking for somewhere they can belong, serve, contribute, grow, and make a difference.
You can also invite people to prayer, Bible study, fellowship, service, and mission. None of those require a permanent pastor. A church can gather around Scripture, serve its community, visit the sick, help families, pray for neighbors, share the gospel, and demonstrate the love of Christ while searching for pastoral leadership.
Most importantly, do not market the church as though nothing is happening until a pastor arrives. That unintentionally communicates that the pastor is the church. Instead, this season can teach the congregation something important: the church is already the church.
A healthy invitation during this season might sound like this:
“We are in a season of new beginnings. We are seeking God’s direction, growing together, and preparing for the future He has for us. We may not have everything in place yet, but we have a place for you. Come worship with us. Come grow with us. Come serve with us. Come help us discover what God wants to do next.”
That changes the question from “What do we have to invite people to?” to “What might God be inviting people to become with us?”
And for a church in transition, or any church for that matter, that may actually be one of its strongest messages.
