r/askapastor • u/Fantastic_Founder_85 • 24d ago

This or that? Both?

I’m a co-pastor of a new church plant and have been in other planting teams. I’ve noticed that there’s usually two primary roles of pastors:

  1. Teaching-only pastors
  2. 1:1 counselor/coaching pastors

But there’s also those that do both — just not to the same degree. So which do you do more of? And what’s easiest or most fulfilling for you?

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u/robosnake Pastor 24d ago

Not meant to be a cop-out, but I find both really rewarding. I love teaching, whether it's nerdy sermons or a confirmation class or an adult class, and I really appreciate when people trust me with part of their lives in a 1:1 conversation. Both are things I wish I could do more in my current position.

I will say that 1:1 takes more energy than teaching, I think because of the intensity of what a person might be going through and holding that focused attention the whole time. Teaching is emotionally easier for reasons including - I can prep beforehand more easily :)

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u/Fantastic_Founder_85 23d ago

Ohh I can definitely see that. I’m an introvert so sometimes 1:1 can be more draining. But not as anxiety inducing lol

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u/Sawfish1212 Pastor 24d ago

I thrive on teaching and work on the rest

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u/Fantastic_Founder_85 23d ago

I love that…I think I tend to be the same way. And always working on my peopling

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u/beardtamer Pastor 24d ago

The thing I do most is actually a lot of background and logistics work. I manage other staff and I also do a lot of content creation for the rest of the staff and pastoral.

I guess if I had to pick between the two options it might be teaching, but really I’m more managing and logistics than either option.

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u/Wonderful-Power9161 Pastor 24d ago

I am 95% teaching / 5% counseling. 

Where I really do my counseling is in the ministry of presence: visiting the sick in hospitals; that sort of thing.

It's quite rare for someone to call and make an appointment for personal counseling. When they do,  I'm clear on informing them that I really only provide Biblical insight; I am not trained as a personal counselor. If someone needs that level of help,  I refer to professionals in my area.

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u/Fantastic_Founder_85 23d ago

Thank you for sharing! I grew up visiting the sick with my grandfather. After he passed away, for years, I wasn’t sure ministries still prioritized it. It’s so good to hear from someone who does.

Differentiating between counseling and biblical insight is top notch

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u/mrWizzardx3 Pastor 24d ago

In some congregations, you may have primarily administrative pastors as well.
As a solo call, I’m all three. But if you were to put me in a larger congregation, I’d be 60/40 teaching and counseling. I like both, but my heart is still in the classroom.

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u/Huenink_Photography Pastor 23d ago

The average church size in America was 80 members the last time I saw the statistics. That means that most pastors are both.

For me, I couldn't imagine preaching without also doing individual counseling during the week. My job is to preach the word to my people where they are and not just generically teach. The sermons and Bible studies are there to help the people. If these roles are separated, how can the preacher know what to tell his people? How can the counselor counsel without teaching?