What is Vital Signs?

Vital Signs tells the story of Pastors who have led (or are currently leading) a church through a process of revitalization.  We place a spotlight on the challenges they faced, the victories that were achieved, and the life that has returned to their church.

We trust their stories will encourage YOU in what you’re doing for the Kingdom of God.

This week, we interviewed Pastor JD Montgomery from New Life AG in Barnett, Missouri. This is part one. Enjoy.

When Toni and I began our call at New Life, there were approximately 35 faithful people attending on Sundays and 12-15 on Wednesday evenings. The building (38,000 sq. ft.) was in a declining condition, zero dollars in the bank account, and the church owed over $6,000.00 in back payments to the utilities.  The mortgage payment was more than the church could pay, and they truly faced a decision to close the doors or expect a miracle from God.

2. What were you thinking as you came there as the new pastor? 

We were thankful that God had opened a door for us, but were unsure if we had walked through the right door.  We were full of hope and expectation of what God could do in this next season of our life.  The church itself was in a season of change and desperately needed some guidance navigating through the change.

3. What did you do first?

We did what had been taught to by the many pastors that shaped our lives over the years—we listened and we loved.  We fell in love with the people—their dedication, faith, commitment to the community, and desire to serve God with or without a brick and mortar building.

There were probably some who did not understand our approach or maybe didn’t trust us.  The majority, however, responded to the love we had for them and the love they had for God and His work in the city and community of Barnett.

5. What did you envision happening in your first year?

In accepting this opportunity, we were very clear with God that we would do all we could to serve Him, love the church and provide biblical direction for it members. We also surrendered the financial needs of the church to God.  The wonderful thing about God is that, when you trust Him, He provides.  Far too many times, we have witnessed leaders trying to do great work, but not trusting God to do His part.  We often find ourselves trying to supplement His responsibilities, and that is never good.  God isn’t in a tug-of-war game with us for His provisions.  When we understand our roles, He will live up to His part of the deal.

Therefore, in the first year, we planted the vision God provided to us and worked to ensure everyone understood what our purpose was.  We were there to reach the lost, teach them, and then prepare them for ministry.  It was part of a conversation we had every day.

The most significant challenge we faced was obviously the finances. However, we determined that would not be our problem.  We asked God to take care of that, and He did.  We were challenged with getting the people to believe that God had not forsaken them and that the work here in our community was not finished.  God purposed this as a place of worship, and His commitment had not changed.

7.  How did you break that mentality?

To change this mentality, we leveraged something that Brother Stan Welch said to me early on in the journey. He said “you get what you preach.”  That may be my version of what I heard, but it was close. As a result, I often spoke about change and accepting change.  Truly, it’s our responsibility as Christians to see how God can use anything and anyone for His glory.  We sometimes believe that because He said He was the same yesterday, today and forever, that He can’t use new methods or non-traditional ways.  That limits our God!  Think of how the Old Testament church felt about Him.  They didn’t like His methods and didn’t understand His ways.  That didn’t mean He could not raise folks from the dead, heal the broken-hearted, or come up out of that tomb.  He still did it, and, whether we like His methods or not, He will do it today.  Our call is to learn to love all worship and non-traditional deliveries of the Word and to understand that every good and perfect gift comes from Him.

8. Did you ever feel like quitting?

We never really talked about quitting.  Now, we wondered at times if this was truly our calling.  We even asked God that question.  We sought counsel from our peers and our pastors.  We have never been quitters; so we knew in our hearts we would not give up.  We set in our mind that God would use every trial and tribulation to not just change the people but change our hearts and cause us to love and lead them.

9. Why didn’t you quit?

 It was our passion.  God had called us, and He had provided and continues to provide for us in so many ways.  We came to ministry out of the corporate business world, spending years serving in large financial organizations that taught us the value of learning, changing, leading and following.  We determined in our hearts, that until it was clear that God was moving us on, we were going to stay. We were “in it to win it.”

10. What have you learned about yourself in this process?

We learned that we are persistent and capable of loving far beyond what we thought possible.  God had birthed in us a desire for the lost to know Him, and the saved to experience Him and serve Him.  We learned that we are servants in a mighty kingdom serving the Master Who loves His people.

11.  What have you learned about your church through this process? 

We learned that God sent us the best of the best—those who have been saved from their past, those who have been hurt in church, those who have been spiritually bankrupt, and those who have been emotionally damaged. God sent them all for us to love and lead.  We learned that this is the church, and they are strong, they are good, and they are our partners in the journey to glory.

12.  What did you learn about ministry?

I learned that ministry is a great, high calling and that God, long before we knew it, had placed a gift in us.  We learned that, because of this gift, much is accounted of us and that we must do all we can with what we have to seek first His kingdom.  We learned that the 33 years we worked as financial management executives in two of the largest firms in the world was training for this ultimate calling.