Eugene Peterson once said,
“The vocation of pastor has been replaced by the strategies of religious entrepreneurs with business plans.”
That quote has haunted me—in the best way.
As a pastor, I’ve often felt the tug-of-war between pastoring people and leading an organization. If you’re in church leadership, you probably feel it too.
I’ve always liked and respected Peterson. His personality and perspective, while often different than mine, often cause me to pause and think. This quote is no different.
So, if you’re a pastor or church leader of any kind, let’s sit with that quote for a moment—and talk about the very real tension between pastoring people and leading a church.
Why the Vocation of Pastor Is So Challenging
Let’s start with Peterson’s perspective.
Pastoring as a vocation is first and foremost a call to spiritually guide those God has placed in our care—both our congregation and our community.
For a pastor, a single week can include:
- A tragedy
- An unexpected death or loss
- A counseling need
- And of course… sermon writing, meetings, and planning Sunday services
People are the point of life, and this is especially true for the pastor.
I didn’t know Peterson personally, but from everything I’ve read and heard, he excelled at this portion of pastoring vocationally.
But there’s more to the vocation.
How Many People Can a Pastor Actually Pastor?
Let’s look at some research:
- A single pastor can personally and meaningfully disciple somewhere between 8 to 15 people at a time, depending on relational depth, time, and systems of support.
- The median church size in the U.S. is 65 people.
Put those two numbers together and you get a challenging picture.
If a given pastor can disciple up to 15 people effectively, that leaves 50 people in the average congregation without a pastoral mentor.
- No wonder churches struggle to break through attendance barriers.
- No wonder the church’s back door is as open as the front.
How to Scale Pastoring People
Most pastors in America lead churches where the line between pastoring and organizational leadership blurs.
You’re not managing a massive staff—you’re:
✅ Preaching
✅ Discipling
✅ Organizing
✅ Changing the toilet paper roll (yep, that too)
Once a church grows beyond 15 people, the pastor’s ability to personally disciple everyone disappears. That’s when the job becomes superhuman—unless systems are in place.
To improve a church’s effectiveness, enter what Peterson referred to as the:
“Strategies of religious entrepreneurs with business plans.”
While that statement might sound a bit condescending to those of us who believe in strategic thinking, the reality is clear:
To disciple even an average-sized church, strategies and systems are required.
If the average church in America has 65 people, most pastors are expected to:
- Personally disciple everyone
- Run the church like a CEO
- All before Sunday’s potluck
That’s impossible.
So What’s the Solution?
Systems and strategies.
They’re not sacred or secular—they’re just practical tools.
Nothing can expand beyond the ability of one individual without strategies and systems.
I’ve seen it firsthand.
- When I led a church of 200 people, we built systems to help ensure the discipleship of the 200 God gave us.
- When we grew to 500, we adjusted those systems.
- Eventually, I led a church of 8,000 in attendance with 65 staff and a few thousand volunteers.
Our church could not even open the doors—much less disciple people—without strategies and systems.
From a discipleship perspective, pastoring a church of 15 would’ve been easier. But people kept coming.
So I had a choice:
- Run everyone off until we were back down to 15, or
- Design and implement systems and strategies to ensure discipleship could scale
What Peterson Got Right
When a pastor or church leader forgets that their primary role is to lead people spiritually, they lose sight of the church’s purpose and the mission of the Great Commission.
And that probably happens often.
As churches grow, it’s easy for pastors to become too much CEO and not enough shepherd.
When a pastor becomes more focused on running the system than serving the people, the Body of Christ suffers.
That’s not the primary calling.
But without some C-suite thinking, a church cannot accomplish its mission either.
What We Cannot Get Wrong
The role of a pastor is to:
- Remain personally involved in discipleship with an appropriate number of people
- Implement systems and strategies that allow discipleship to scale as the church grows
We cannot allow the systems to become our focus.
People must be the focus.
But we must also be capable of using systems and strategies as tools to move our mission forward.
Ask Yourself:
- Where are you spending your energy right now?
- On the systems?
- On the people?
- Or… neither?
👉 What one step could you take this week to ensure discipleship remains at the heart of your leadership?
Call to Action:
Identify one bottleneck keeping your church from discipling more people—and start designing a system that solves it. This is something I do for churches around the world. I’d be happy to help you do the same.
Quotes for Inspiration:
“The role of the pastor is personal, but the mission of the church is scalable.”
“People are the point. Systems are the support.”
“You don’t need to choose between being a shepherd or a strategist—you need to learn how to do both well.”
Resources for Further Learning:
- The Ministry MBA: 10 Practical Courses to Build a Thriving Church
- How to Build a Discipleship Pathway That Works
- How to Measure Church Success: 4 Critical Areas You Can’t Overlook
- How to Recycle Your Strategy to Reset Your Life Cycle
One More Thing…
At Church Accelerator, we offer consulting, workshops, content, and community to help churches break through barriers and grow their church.
Work with us in the way that best works for you:
✅ RESOURCES: Save 49 hours every month for only $49.
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✅ CONSULTING ENGAGEMENTS: Great churches don’t happen by accident. We coach and consult with churches with fewer than 100 attendees to churches with over 10,000 to improve discipleship pathways, communication and preaching, church engagement, and church leadership.
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Leading WITH You,
Dr. Gavin Adams
