Series: The Whole Church Caring for the Whole Person
“Who really cares for the people in your church?”
That might sound like an odd question. Most of us would answer, “Our pastor does.”
And in one sense, that’s true — pastors are shepherds. They feed, lead, and protect the flock of God. But here’s the question beneath the question: is the “pastor-centered” model of care actually biblical?
In The Pastor’s Book, Robert Evans describes pastoral care in five themes: faithful shepherds feed their sheep, know their sheep, love their sheep, lead their sheep, and protect their sheep. It’s a beautiful picture — but it’s also a big job.
So big, in fact, that it might not be possible for one person (or even a few) to carry alone.
The Problem with a “Pastor-Centered” Model
If you’ve been in ministry for long, you’ve probably felt the tension.
You preach on Sunday. You lead meetings on Monday. You visit the hospital on Tuesday. You counsel the struggling couple on Wednesday. You prepare for Sunday again by Thursday. Somewhere in there, you’re supposed to rest, parent, and stay healthy.
According to Barna Research, 65% of pastors feel overwhelmed and overworked, and more than half of church members expect their senior pastor to be their main source of care and counseling. No wonder so many pastors are exhausted — and so many church members feel unseen.
This isn’t just a time management issue; it’s a theology of care issue.
If the entire church’s well-being depends on one person’s availability, we’ve missed something essential about how God designed His people to function.
The Biblical Vision: Jesus, the Good Shepherd
Ezekiel 34 paints a sobering picture of unfaithful shepherds — leaders who neglect the sheep, feed themselves, and leave the weak scattered. But God promises something better: “I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep.”
Then in John 10, Jesus fulfills that promise: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.”
Jesus alone is the Good Shepherd. Every earthly pastor is, at best, an under-shepherd, pointing people to Him. And because Jesus continues His care through His body — the Church — pastoral care must become more than a job title. It must become a shared calling.
The Church isn’t designed to function as a hierarchy of caregivers and care receivers. It’s a living body where every member participates in the care of others (1 Cor. 12:25–26).
The Limits of One Shepherd
Let’s be honest: no pastor can do all five things Evans mentions — feed, know, love, lead, and protect — for an entire congregation. Even Jesus, during His earthly ministry, chose twelve to be with Him closely and sent them out to multiply His ministry (Mark 3:14).
So why do we assume one pastor should visit every sick person, perform every funeral, counsel every struggler, and still preach every week?
It’s not sustainable — and more importantly, it’s not biblical.
The early church thrived not because of the extraordinary capacity of its leaders, but because the Spirit equipped ordinary believers to care for one another. Pastors taught, guided, and protected — but the whole church shared in the ministry.
When the Whole Church Cares
What would it look like if we recaptured that vision?
What if pastoral care wasn’t centered on a person, but on a people — the body of Christ itself?
Imagine a church where:
- Members regularly bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2).
- Small groups become the first responders to need.
- Pastors equip others to comfort, pray, and walk alongside.
- No one suffers alone because everyone knows they belong.
That’s not a fantasy. It’s a biblical possibility — and it’s one I’ve seen begin to take root in our church.
When care becomes a community project, pastors lead more joyfully, members grow more deeply, and the love of Jesus becomes visible in everyday relationships.
A Shift from “Doing” to “Equipping”
Ephesians 4:11–12 tells us that God gives pastors and teachers “to equip the saints for the work of ministry.”
That means a pastor’s role isn’t to do all the ministry — it’s to equip the church to do ministry together.
When pastors stop trying to be the sole caregivers and start training others to care, everyone wins. The pastor’s burden lightens, and the church’s health strengthens.
So What’s Next?
This post introduces a new series called “A Church That Cares: The Whole Church Caring for the Whole Person.”
Over the next two posts, we’ll explore:
- Part 2: Building a Culture of Care — How the Whole Church Cares for the Whole Person
We’ll look at how the gospel shapes our philosophy of care and unpack four key categories that help us understand the complexity of people’s struggles. - Part 3: From Concept to Culture — How We Practice Care at Redeemer
We’ll walk through the practical systems and real-life examples of how this approach works in our church community.
Ministry That Matters 