August 17, 2024
PALMETTO, Ga. – Baptist churches are familiar with pastors departing for another ministry, followed by a transition period, and the all-important task of finding and calling a new pastor. Several years ago, Baptist Press reported that the average tenure of a pastor in a larger church is 8.7 years compared to 7.2 years among smaller churches.
The interim period between pastors can be challenging at times, but also provides the perfect opportunity for churches to recalibrate and refocus. An interim is often necessary, because it provides a season for the church to grieve over the loss of a pastor that was dearly loved, and in some cases gives the church the opportunity to experience healing and restoration when a pastor left under duress.
A good interim or transitional pastor is invaluable to the church that is going through the adjustment necessary to prepare for new leadership. He can help the church assess present practices and make changes without reflecting negatively upon the former pastor and prepare the soil for a greater ministry upon the arrival of the new pastor. No interim period should be viewed as a period for just marking time, but as an opportunity to capitalize on the temporary.
Rob Peters was Palmetto Baptist’s choice as a transitional pastor. He is the founder and president of Corpus, Inc, a global church revitalization ministry. Peters helped the church sharpen their focus on essential moral and spiritual issues, embrace the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message, and stoked the fires of evangelism in the hearts of the people.
“While there were many wonderful things about the church, I preached a series of sermons on Philippians to illustrate the importance of making joy a hallmark of the church’s personality,” Peters explained. “I wanted the church to be known as a holy, healthy, happy fellowship.”
During the transitional period, Peters wanted to make sure that the church’s mission aligned with its strategy, so he crafted a series of sermons on Acts 1-10 to underscore the importance of that alignment.
Peters commented, “I cannot say enough good things about the lay leadership at Palmetto Baptist Church. They were responsive and cooperative every step of the way and were instrumental in making sure the church was spiritually prepared to receive a new pastor upon his arrival.
Jimmy Kinnaird, the mission strategist for the Fairburn Association, stated, “Rob Peters was the ideal person for building a bridge between the former and current pastor for the Palmetto Church and gave validity to the importance of a good transitional pastor.”
On June 10th of this year Lee Brewer, who had served as the pastor of New Hope Baptist Church’s Northgate campus in Newnan became the new pastor at Palmetto Baptist Church.
Kinnaird exclaimed, “Lee is very committed to the Gospel and reaching this generation for Christ. He is very gregarious and once you meet him, you feel like he is a friend for life. He has already connected with the people and knows the challenges we are facing in our culture today. He has Biblical fidelity and gives evidence of his divine calling. In the short time he has been the pastor in Palmetto there has already been a bump in attendance and several baptisms.”
Brewer grew up in Mississippi, accepted Jesus as his Savior at age nine, and surrendered to full-time ministry in 2000. He met his wife, Emily, at Mississippi State University. He continued his education at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C. He has served churches in Mississippi, North Carolina, and Georgia. He and Emily have two boys LJ (11), and Cayden (9).
There are many interesting factors to this transition, but three years ago the Brewers bought a house in Palmetto. As pastor of the Northgate campus, he was on the executive team of New Hope, and as such, his office was 35 minutes away in Fayetteville with the other executive pastors. The Northgate campus is not that far from the house the Brewers purchased in Palmetto, but since Lee had no office space at Northgate, he drove to New Hope’s campus in Fayetteville each day. His unexpected call to be the pastor of the Palmetto church, therefore, did not necessitate a relocation, kept the Brewers’ sons in the same school, and reduced Lee’s travel time to his new church to 5 minutes. It is amazing how God knows the end from the beginning and does all things well.
Brewer looks forward to being the shepherd of the Palmetto church. He stated, “A shepherd does not push, but leads the church to greener pastures. He devotes himself to protect, guide, and comfort the flock of God and set a vision for the church to worship, work, and witness in unity.
“A true leader equips leaders to lead,” Brewer explained. “A godly leader will have his ministry firmly planted in the Word of God, and teach his teams to make decisions. My prayer is that God will prepare me to be that kind of leader.”
The new Palmetto pastor wants to cast a vision for the church, but gave evidence of great wisdom when he remarked, “I have only been here ten weeks and my present goal is to understand the DNA of the church. It will take some time to see the personality of the church with real clarity. Basically, I am coming in as a partner and enjoying the relationships. The people seem to be excited, and I believe the church is in a good place. I believe all the elements are here to make growth happen.”
