Life lessons from Pastoring for 44 years: A lesson from each church I served

Pastor Art Snow • April 18, 2022

Life lessons from Pastoring for 44 years:

My main lesson from each church I served 

I have never been very good at looking back, I have spent my life living in the moment and planning for the future. But writing this blog has forced me to take that backward glance and spend time looking in the rear view mirror. I am now 66 years old, funny when you are young you can never imagine yourself in your mid-60’s but unless you die, it happens, if kind of slips up on you. One day you are buying your first car and the next day you are combing your white beard making sure every hair is in place. Ok time now to reflect….as I stoke my white whiskers, I will tell you my story. 

High Mill Christian Center:  Lesson learned, God is love.

I became a Jesus follower at age 17, I fell madly, passionately, in love with Jesus, and by the time I was 22 I was in active ministry. Our first church was called High Mill Christian Center because we began at a swim park in Massillon Ohio called High Mill Swim Park, it was named for the Grist mill that was once on the property.  It had a big farm house where we had our Bible studies and a barn where we met for service. We would eventually buy an old Presbyterian building in Canton Ohio, but this was our humble beginnings.  

It all began in my wife’s parents living room (before we were married), where 12 of us met for a Bible study and it would eventually grow to over a thousand people all under the age of 25. It was in that living room that God gave us the vision for a church that would be very different than anything we had ever seen before. 

A man named Chuck Schumacher would be the Senior Pastor and I would be the Co-Pastor. Chuck was the evangelist and I was the Bible Teacher, he would preach one week and I would preach the next, it was a true Co-Pastorate, and worked beautifully as our gifts blended to serve the church. 

Eventually a few couples in their 40’s would join, but it essentially stayed a very young church reaching all the kids that conventional church could not or would not. We hosted Christian Rock-n-Roll concerts which caused much of our early growth. It was loud, wild and cutting edge for the early 1970’s. 

We were deeply influenced by a pastor in Niles Ohio (about 90 minutes away) named Lenny Evans. Lenny preached what he called the “Love Message”, it was that message that would change my life forever and deeply influence how I saw and did ministry. I came to Jesus through the portal of love, not fear, not majesty, not transcendence, just love. For the first time in my life I touched and was touched by “pure love”. And it set me on my pastoral journey of being loved and loving people with that same unreserved, unrestrained, unconditional love that I received from Jesus. 

Heights of Zion Christian Center: Lesson learned: Believing in people.

In the early 1980’s a strange phenomenon began to happen. Because of High Mill’s concert ministry people began to attend our church from Cleveland Ohio (60 miles away). Eventually they would ask if we could plant a church in their city, so in May of 1983 my wife and I and our 7 month old baby packed up and moved to Cleveland Ohio to plant Heights of Zion Christian Center. We started with about 20 people and saw steady growth for the next 5 years.

If High Mill was my school to learn the love of God, then Heights of Zion would be where I would learn to  “absolutely believe in people”, it was a God thing, I simply believed in people even when they didn’t believe in themselves. 

Some would criticize me for believing in “everybody”, but the truth was someone, believed in me and his name was Chuck Schumacher. Were there disappointments, yes, but I still have never regretted one day of believing in people ! Lesson learned, now ready for the next leg of the journey.

Christian Centre: Lessons learned: How to put on big events, some things never to do.

During the 5 years at Heights of Zion we decided to affiliate with a denomination called Foursquare. It was at this time we met an older couple who asked us to leave our church and Co-Pastor with them for 3 years at which time they would retire, and we would take over the church and K-12 Christian school. 

Well as they say, all that glitters is not gold, and we found this out the hard way. After being there a short time we realized this couple were very threatened by my wife and I because the people fell in love with us very quickly. At some point in the 3 years we spent there they began to see us as “Absalom in the gate”. For those of you not familiar with the Biblical story of Absalom, he was the son of  King David and he formed a conspiracy to steal the throne from his father (2 Samuel 15)

After 3 years of some very unpleasant times, we were offered the opportunity to take a church in Maryland, but let me not get ahead of myself.

The one thing Christian Centre was known for was for putting on “big events” in the city. And it was here where Sharon and I learned the skill of planning and pulling off large events, this would pay off really well in our future in ministry. In our next assignment we would be in charge of March for Jesus a march throughout the city for an audience of one. We had 25,000 people on the streets to just glorify Jesus.

Unfortunately we also learned some things “never to do”. Without going into detail there were “Shenanigans” that were going on with these older pastors, some unethical, some illegal, and eventually these would all catch up to them after we had moved on.The years 1988-1991 were spent in the crucible, but we learned to never waste a situation good or bad they can all teach us something. 

Brentwood Foursquare Gospel Church: Lesson leaned: I am a leader of Leaders.

In November of 1991 we accepted the pastorate in Brentwood Maryland, just 4 blocks outside Washington DC.  It was here I would learn that I was a leader of leaders. The District Supervisor at the time recognized this before I did and appointed me as the Divisional Superintendent over 21 churches in the Maryland/DC area. Pastors and leaders were drawn to my leadership and before I knew it my denomination had asked me to serve in many positions in the District and I found myself traveling back and forth from Maryland to LA were our Central Offices were located.

It is amazing how a leader can have latent gifts in them that are brought out in the right environment. Brentwood was that environment for me, the place were I would grow and expand and have a larger role in ministry beyond the local church. 

It was here we would transition a 98% white church located in a community that was 78% Black, 10 % Hispanic and 4 % Asian into a multi-cultural expression. When we left this church 11 years later it was 90 % people of color, truly reflecting its community. God had taught me to lead leaders and I was having the time of my life, so why would I ever want to leave this “sweet spot” ? 

Chestnut Street Community Church: Lesson learned: Convergence and what to do with it.

There we were enjoying our “sweet spot” sitting in an auditorium watching a concert of one of the women in our church, when my phone rang. It was my District Supervisor, I had pastored long enough to know when the Supervisor calls, you answer. So I stepped out into the lobby and the voice on the other end said, “Art, the Roselle church is open, would you be interested in assuming the pastorate there?” Roselle, you kidding me, Roselle is open?

I knew the church, I knew it to be a beautiful Multi-cultural church and I knew the Pastor. In fact I actually said “the only way I would ever leave my “sweet spot” in Brentwood is if Roselle ever opened up.” To make a long story short, I said yes and that was 20 years ago and I found my new and final “sweet spot”. 

I was 47 years old when I came to Chestnut, and had been in ministry for 24 years and had figured out who I was and what was my best contribution to  both the local church and larger denominational ministry. Now let me explain my lesson from Chestnut, as I mentioned above, it is Convergence and what to do with it.

Robert Clinton in his book “The Making of a Leader” (a must read for any Christian leader) explains there are 6 phases to the life of a leader:

Phase one: Sovereign foundations

Phase two: Inner-life growth

Phase three: Ministry maturing

Phase four: Life maturing 

Phase five: Convergence 

Phase six: Afterglow

Convergence is defined as: God moves the leader into a role that matches his or her gift-mix and experience so that ministry is maximized. The elder uses the best he has to offer and is freed from ministry for which he is not gifted or suited. Life Maturing and Ministry Maturing peak together during this period. 

The major developmental task for this phase is the guidance of the leader into a role and place where he can have maximum effectiveness. His response to God’s guidance must be to trust, rest, and watch as God moves him toward a ministry that embodies all the development of preceding phases. Convergence manifests itself as he responds consistently to God’s work in his life.

And that is where I am today and have been for the last 20 years, it has been very fruitful, fulfilling and rewarding. I am energized by what I get to do everyday, I love the people, I love the community, and I love my church. By the help of the Holy Spirit, and a great group of leaders, I have been able to build the kind of church I have always wanted to pastor. I am truly living my Best Life !

In closing let me explain something I said earlier, “I found my new and final “sweet spot”.” This is our final assignment, we will leave Chestnut in 4 years and there is already a team in place to take over this wonderful church. Sharon and I will be 70 years old and will  move into the place Robert Clinton calls “Afterglow or Celebration”. He defines it this way; 

“For a very few, there is Phase 6, Afterglow or Celebration The fruit of a lifetime of ministry and growth culminates in an era of recognition and indirect influence at broad levels. Leaders in Afterglow have built up a lifetime of contacts and continue to exert influence in these relationships. Others will seek them out because of their consistent track record in following God. Their storehouse of wisdom gathered over a lifetime of leadership will continue to bless and benefit many.”

There is no recognizable developmental task in Phase 6 other than to allow a lifetime of ministry to reflect the glory of God and to honor His faithfulness over a lifetime of development. 

So there you have it, 5 lessons learned in 5 churches over 44 years. May each of us walk with God over a lifetime and learn the lessons for the journey.

Pastor Art Snow | April 18, 2022

Edited and Adapted for Web Use by: Eric Muñoz Jr.