Pastor Resources was introduced to the church market in 2003 as a card pack focusing mostly on the practical needs of the church. While the format changed to a magazine the following year, the content remained the same.
In 2008, I watched my cousin come to the Lord after watching a DVD we had featured on the back cover that reached out to teens in a creative and effective way. I heard more stories from others who said books we had featured strengthened and renewed their relationship with Jesus. This gave me a taste for much more. I began to ask the Lord for a greater purpose beyond serving the church in only practical terms.
Fact is, when you think of reaching 100,000 pastors, it’s easy to forget you’re reaching individuals who influence hundreds and often thousands of people. I saw that we had a chance to focus on resources that could, through this medium, impact millions of lives. By featuring even more books, conferences, small group studies, missions, films, etc., while still presenting products that addressed the basic needs of a church (A/V, buildings-furnishings, website/marketing services, etc.), there was so much to be excited about.
It wasn’t long before we were able to move online, becoming a one-stop-shop meeting pastors’ unique needs. Our platform allowed pastors to connect with and better understand the companies offering goods and services. Once we launched our app, content delivery became more streamlined and convenient. And even as we continued to grow and change for the better, I knew we could be offering more to these pastors in the form of original content to serve and support them in a way it seemed no one was.
Simply put, while there has always been an abundance of content to help pastors “grow their church” and “become better leaders” or “run better fund-raising campaigns”–– often turning on-fire seminary graduates into discouraged businessmen––there hasn’t been a comparable amount of content helping pastors deal with the struggles that tear at them on a daily basis. These struggles can include, bickering instead of loving members, pushy instead of serving elders, pastors neglecting instead of pursuing their own families, and so on. If left unaddressed, these struggles quickly lead to depleted inspiration and eventually complete burnout. In this 8th year (typically viewed as the year of “new beginnings”), Pastor Resources is excited to launch the new pastorresources.com to meet this clear need among pastors.
I won’t pretend for a moment that our resources will make all the struggles go away. But I will promise that our content will support the pastor in the midst of these realities, offering a sense of community and real inspiration. Content to help him stand strong during the constant criticism. Content to redirect the never-ending pull of people-pleasing that often comes at the expense of his family. Content that brings the joy back.
Content that inspires.
Welcome to the new PastorResources.com.
Dave Wike, President, JCA Company
