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We Need Your Help

2/9/2016

We have started a new youth ministry and we need your help.

On Saturday, February 6, we started a new youth ministry. We had about a dozen youth show up for our first ever youth fellowship and we are excited! We are expecting even more people at our next youth fellowship.

Here is where we need your help. We need to purchase 30 chairs for our ministry and for the youth fellowship. The chairs cost approximately $10.00 each. They are made of a very durable plastic and will help us to reach out to the youth in our community. We are teaching them life skills, giving them a place where they can have fun and fellowship, and a place where we share the good news of the Gospel to them.

Please help us purchase 30 chairs to help reach our youth. Please sow a gift of $10 for one chair; $20 for two chairs; $30 for three chairs or any amount that you would give to help our ministry as we are reaching out to help our youth. We desire to see lives changed, encouraged and see our youth become tomorrow's leaders. Please give today.

Yes, Tom. I want to help. I will give:

___ $10 ___ $20 ___ $30 ___ $50 ___ $100 to help purchase chairs for the youth fellowship.

Thank you in advance for your generous gift to our ministry.

Tom Bice Ministries is a registered non-profit ministry in the United States. Your gift is tax deductible as allowed by law.

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What Would You Do If Your Pastor Quit The Ministry?

2/6/2016

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This morning while in the presence of God, while sitting at my desk praying, reading my Bible and thinking, I saw a post on Facebook that broke my heart. Yes, I confess my computer was on and I had the screen on Facebook. I am being transparent with you. I believe God had me see that post for a reason.

In part, here are some alarming statistics that I discovered:

4,000 new churches begin each year and 7,000 churches close.
Over 1,700 pastors left the ministry every month last year.
Over 1,300 pastors were terminated by the local church each month , many without cause.
Over 3,500 people a day left the church last year.
Many denominations report an “empty pulpit crisis”. They cannot find ministers willing to fill positions.

#1 reason pastors leave the ministry — Church people are not willing to go the same direction and goal of the pastor. Pastors believe God wants them to go in one direction but the people are not willing to follow or change.

Reference: http://www.pastoralcareinc.com/statistics/

I am naturally curious so my mind begged the question, “Why are pastors leaving the ministry? There must be a reason.”

Upon further research I came across this site and what I read broke my heart. In part it reads:

Most pastors are overworked.

90% of pastors report working between 55 to 75 hours per week and 50% feel unable to meet the demands of the job.

And 70% of pastors feel grossly underpaid.

Most pastors feel unprepared.

90% feel they are inadequately trained to cope with the ministry demands and 90% of pastors said the ministry was completely different than what they thought it would be like before they entered the ministry.

Many pastors struggle with depression and discouragement.

70% of pastors constantly fight depression and 50% of pastors feel so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living.
Wait, this is huge. Let’s pause here for a moment.
This means that half of the 1,700 or so pastors who leave the ministry each month have no other way of making a living. Their education and experience is wrapped up solely in the work of the ministry.
So, not only do pastors struggle with their choice to leave ministry, they have to worry about how they are going to feed their families.

Speaking of families, most pastor’s families are negatively impacted.

80% believe pastoral ministry has negatively affected their families. 80% of spouses feel the pastor is overworked and feel left out and under-appreciated by church members.

Many pastors are lonely.

70% do not have someone they consider a close friend and 40% report serious conflict with a parishioner at least once a month.

And then there is this:

50% of the ministers starting out will not last 5 years. 1 out of every 10 ministers will actually retire as a minister in some form. And 4,000 new churches begin each year while 7,000 churches close.
The statistics speak for themselves. Working in ministry – whether you’re a full-time pastor or a lay minister balancing a job and a church – can be challenging. Families suffer, discouragement and depression – amongst a gamut of other things – runs like a river in the lives of those who sacrifice their own life to the cause of the church.

Reference: http://www.expastors.com/why-do-so-many-pastors-leave-the-ministry-the-facts-will-shock-you/

“Why is this important,” you might be asking.

That’s a great question, and one that begs for an answer.

It is sad that so many pastors are leaving the ministry. Our world is in crisis and now is the time that we need them to stay the course and to finish the race.

We are in a spiritual battle with the spiritual wickedness and the darkness of this world.

Satan is tearing families apart, destroying lives and deceiving our children. People no longer believe the Bible is our final authority, and that we must do what it teaches.
So many are blinded by the lures the world has to offer. They don’t see the danger ahead. Your pastor is there to warn you of those dangers.

When your pastor warns you of those dangers that lie ahead, believe him. He is there to protect you from those dangers. He is there to guide you and teach you the truth of God’s Word.

If we continue this trend of pastors leaving the ministry, and churches closing their doors, there will come a time when no one will know the truth, and we will be as in the days when “everyone did that which was right in their own eyes.”
That will be a sad day, my friend.

I have been in the ministry since 1982. I was called to preach while I was serving in the US Army in Stuttgart, Germany.

I know the realities of the ministry. I love what I do. I have been through many ups and downs in ministry as well and have survived.

Yes, there have been many times I thought of quitting, but I refuse to quit and get out of the ministry. I made a decision a long time ago to stay the course and finish the race set before me by the grace of God.

One day when I stand before God, I want Him to say, “Well done, thy good and faithful servant.”

We are serving the Lord in Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines. We are helping others.

There are many who are hurting, lives are broken, marriages are on the verge of a breakup, children are going hungry and many have lost hope.

I don’t know about you, but that breaks my heart. I see these things on a daily basis.

We are counseling people, encouraging them and giving them hope for a better today, and for a better tomorrow.

We are having a children’s Bible study on Saturday mornings and a youth Bible Study and fellowship on Saturday afternoon. We are making a difference in the lives of others.

We thank you for your prayers and financial support of this ministry. We need your help so we can continue to help others in need.

Please sow a generous financial gift to our ministry today. Your giving will help make a difference in the life of another. Your gift will go towards sharing the Gospel here in the Philippines, and around the world.

One way we are reaching out is to the youth in our community. We are holding Bible studies and feeding them. If you want to be a part of helping our youth, please sow a gift to help us teach and train them to be productive citizens in society, teaching them the principles of successful living.

Please so your generous gift today.

Yes, Tom. I want to sow a gift today to help support what you are doing to help others.

I will give ___$20 ___$25 ___$30 ___$50 ___$100 ___other

Your gift to this ministry will not go unrewarded by God. Please give today.

“What you make happen for others, God will make happen for you.”

Tom Bice Ministries is a registered charitable, non-profit ministry. Your gift is tax deductible as allowed by law in the country where you live.

If you have any questions or comments, please email them to tom.[email protected]

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We Need Your Help

What Would You Do If Your Pastor Quit The Ministry?

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