Home Pastors Articles for Pastors When Should a Pastor Leave a Church?

When Should a Pastor Leave a Church?

“The one who rejects you rejects me” (Luke 10:16).

When should a pastor leave a church?

1. When they fire you.

If they vote you out, preacher, and change the locks on the door, it’s a pretty good sign they want you gone.

At that point, even if you know beyond all doubt that God sent you and this action represents complete rebellion on their part, it’s time to leave. The Lord no longer expects you to stay.

(Whether He wants you to go down the street and rent an empty building and start a new church is an entirely different matter.)

2. When the Holy Spirit tells you.

That’s the other “simplest answer” to the question, to be redundant. After all, the One who called you into this work and sent you to that church—He did, didn’t He?—certainly knows when it’s time for you to move on. 

Usually, He opens another place of service at the same time. However, occasionally, He will command you to resign and leave but has not yet opened up the next place of service.

When that happens, you find out all over again what “living by faith” really means.

3. After this, the answers become a little more ambiguous and complicated ...

I threw out this question to our Facebook friends, hundreds of whom are active in ministry at one level or other. Their answers fell into four categories.

What follows is a summation of points they made