Thankful

By Jordan Villanueva

With the Thanksgiving season upon us, I wanted to say how thankful I am for the Pastor’s Common. This week at the Texas Baptists Annual Meeting, there was a meeting of over one hundred Millennial and Gen Z ministry leaders from around the state of Texas that convened at Anthem Stories in Waco, Texas. I am thankful for the familiar faces that I had the opportunity to catch up with. I was also grateful for the new faces I had the opportunity to connect with. While at this Pastor’s Common gathering, we conversed about current obstacles that our churches are facing in the current cultural climate. While we did not solve all of the world’s problems, I am appreciative of the reminder that we do not have to face these problems alone. Often times ministry can be a lonely place, but the reality is that it does not have to be. Thanks be to God for the Pastor’s Common and the fact that ministry does not have to be lonely.

The Pastor’s Common, which was started at the end of 2019, has grown to a network of over 350 Millennial and Gen Z ministry leaders from around the country. The work of the Pastor’s Common has begun to draw attention from institutions. Texas Baptists have begun to take notice of the work that the Pastor’s Common is doing. Their communication department published this article about the gathering in Waco this past week. The future is bright for the Pastor’s Common and all Millennial and Gen Z ministry leaders.

If you are a Millennial or Gen Z ministry leader, we want to partner with you in what God is calling you to do. We would encourage you to join us in paving the way forward in ministry. We would like to invite you to partner with us by contributing your voice along with the number of ministry leaders that have created content through the Pastor’s Common in order to encourage and foster what Paul calls in Colossians 2, “unity in love”. We believe that there is a generation of young ministry leaders that are uniquely wired to speak to the current theological and cultural crises. The Pastor’s Common wants to give these leaders a platform to speak into these moments. If you are interested in contributing to either the podcast, video content, publications, or any other forms of content, please email David Miranda at david.miranda@texasbaptists.org . Ministry does not have to be lonely. I am extremely grateful for the Pastor’s Common for showing me this.

*The views expressed are those solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Pastor’s Common