{"id":658,"date":"2019-10-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-23T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-unsung-heroes-in-ministry\/"},"modified":"2020-06-21T21:47:30","modified_gmt":"2020-06-22T01:47:30","slug":"the-unsung-heroes-in-ministry","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-unsung-heroes-in-ministry\/","title":{"rendered":"The unsung heroes in ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor’s note: This post originally appeared at factsandtrends.net.<\/em><\/p>\n

When I think about Pastor Appreciation Month, I think of leaders many people don\u2019t even know about. I think of the folks in the shadows.<\/p>\n

These are the pastors who are faithfully preaching the gospel each week with little notice here on earth. The folks who devotedly serve the Lord in obscurity, love their families and churches well, and don\u2019t feel the need to tell everyone, \u201cLook at what I\u2019ve built!\u201d<\/p>\n

I think of folks like Hayden Smith and Cal West. You likely haven\u2019t heard of these two unless you\u2019ve read\u00a0Replanting Rural Churches<\/em><\/a>, but they have a combined 50 years of service between two New Mexican churches.<\/p>\n

Think about it. That’s …<\/strong><\/p>\n

50 years of funerals
\n50 years of weddings
\n50 years of baptisms
\n50 years of business meetings
\n50 years of counseling sessions
\n50 years of ups
\n50 years of downs
\n50 years of sermons, likely heard by only a few
\n50 years of faithfulness<\/p>\n

All this time investment was spent about as far away from the spotlight as one can get. Smith is currently in his 30th year of pastoring at First Baptist Church in Carrizozo, New Mexico. West, meanwhile, is serving in his 20th year as pastor at First Baptist Church in Corona, New Mexico.<\/p>\n

It’s been a long time in nowhere.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a little geography lesson. Carrizozo, New Mexico, is a town about 90 miles from where I live. It has a population of less than 1,000. I don\u2019t go there unless I\u2019m driving to Albuquerque, which is another 170 miles away from \u2026absolutely nothing.<\/p>\n

Likewise, Corona, New Mexico \u2014 a town of just over 150 people \u2014 is about 50 miles north of \u2026 absolutely nothing. Yet in these towns in the middle of nowhere, two faithful pastors serve the Lord in obscurity.<\/p>\n

Sadly, these two pastors and others like them will likely never grace a stage on a conference circuit. They\u2019ll likely never author a best-selling book. But in the shadows of the cool and hip, they\u2019ve laid down their roots and are pouring their lives into the people the Lord has called them to shepherd.<\/p>\n

You might be thinking, \u201cWow, what a waste!\u201d Or maybe less offensively, \u201cThat just isn\u2019t normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

But you’d be wrong.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It would\u2019ve made sense for Jesus to have been born in Rome or even in Jerusalem. Instead, Jesus Christ \u2014 the Savior of the world, the long-awaited Messiah, the Holy Promised One \u2014 was raised in Nazareth.<\/p>\n

Nazareth was a small, insignificant town, much like Carrizozo and Corona, but without a Family Dollar or QuikMart. However, God, in His infinite wisdom, made that tiny town the launching point of the Savior of the world.<\/p>\n

Could it be because God wants us to understand something about places the world has forgotten? Could it be that some of the most important work in the kingdom of God happens in nowhere places?<\/p>\n

I think so.<\/strong><\/p>\n

God loves churches in the middle of nowhere. He loves people in communities that will never see the \u201cHot Now\u201d neon sign at Krispy Kreme or know the despair of wanting Chick-fil-A on a Sunday because they can\u2019t even get it Monday through Saturday.<\/p>\n

He loves those towns that, to most of us, are nothing more than a name on an interstate exit sign. Why does God love them? He loves them because there are millions of people around our nation who live in communities just like Hayden\u2019s and Cal\u2019s.<\/p>\n

He loves them because every man, woman, and child represented on the population sign in your community are made in the image of God and deeply loved by Him.<\/p>\n

If you take a drive through the small towns that dot the landscape along America\u2019s backroads, you\u2019ll almost always find a church. If you happen to pass such a church this month \u2014 or any month for that matter \u2014 would you do something for me?<\/p>\n

Pray for them. Better yet, stop in for a visit and get to know these servants in the middle of nowhere. Who knows? You might just learn a thing or two you can take back to your church.<\/p>\n

As we celebrate Pastor Appreciation Month, let\u2019s remember the forgotten places. After all, God asks for faithfulness, even in nowhere places out of the spotlight.<\/p>\n

There are countless pastors just like Hayden and Cal. We appreciate them all!,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor’s note: This post originally appeared at factsandtrends.net. When I think about Pastor Appreciation Month, I …<\/p>\n

The unsung heroes in ministry<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":659,"template":"","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[],"channels":[],"topics":[53],"languages":[],"class_list":["post-658","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource_type-article","topics-replanting"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe unsung heroes in ministry - Church Replanting<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-unsung-heroes-in-ministry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The unsung heroes in ministry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Editor’s note: This post originally appeared at factsandtrends.net. When I think about Pastor Appreciation Month, I … The unsung heroes in ministry Read More »\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-unsung-heroes-in-ministry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Church Replanting\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-06-22T01:47:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/02\/boy-child-childhood-346796-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-unsung-heroes-in-ministry\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-unsung-heroes-in-ministry\/\",\"name\":\"The unsung heroes in ministry - Church Replanting\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-unsung-heroes-in-ministry\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-unsung-heroes-in-ministry\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/02\/boy-child-childhood-346796-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-10-23T04:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-06-22T01:47:30+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-unsung-heroes-in-ministry\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-unsung-heroes-in-ministry\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-unsung-heroes-in-ministry\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/02\/boy-child-childhood-346796-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/02\/boy-child-childhood-346796-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-unsung-heroes-in-ministry\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The unsung heroes in ministry\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/\",\"name\":\"Church Replanting\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Church Replanting\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/01\/NAMB-Logo_Full_White.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/01\/NAMB-Logo_Full_White.png\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":523,\"caption\":\"Church Replanting\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The unsung heroes in ministry - Church Replanting","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-unsung-heroes-in-ministry\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The unsung heroes in ministry","og_description":"Editor’s note: This post originally appeared at factsandtrends.net. When I think about Pastor Appreciation Month, I … The unsung heroes in ministry Read More »","og_url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-unsung-heroes-in-ministry\/","og_site_name":"Church Replanting","article_modified_time":"2020-06-22T01:47:30+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/02\/boy-child-childhood-346796-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-unsung-heroes-in-ministry\/","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-unsung-heroes-in-ministry\/","name":"The unsung heroes in ministry - Church Replanting","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-unsung-heroes-in-ministry\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-unsung-heroes-in-ministry\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/02\/boy-child-childhood-346796-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2019-10-23T04:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2020-06-22T01:47:30+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-unsung-heroes-in-ministry\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-unsung-heroes-in-ministry\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-unsung-heroes-in-ministry\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/02\/boy-child-childhood-346796-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/02\/boy-child-childhood-346796-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-unsung-heroes-in-ministry\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The unsung heroes in ministry"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/","name":"Church Replanting","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#organization","name":"Church Replanting","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/01\/NAMB-Logo_Full_White.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/01\/NAMB-Logo_Full_White.png","width":2560,"height":523,"caption":"Church Replanting"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource\/658"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/resource"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=658"},{"taxonomy":"channels","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/channels?post=658"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=658"},{"taxonomy":"languages","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/languages?post=658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}