Late in 2021, Marie and I felt the Lord calling us to go on the road full-time as itinerant ministers with the mission to “encourage the churches”. I remember sharing that word with a pastor friend who astutely responded, “Whatever that means.” Exactly! We had no idea what that was supposed to look like. But we did what we knew to do… sold everything, bought a motorhome, and announced we were available. Now, over 100 events later, we are more certain of the need than when we started.
2020 and its aftermath were difficult for church leaders. Most went into survival mode, and some dealt with discouragement and depression as the stresses of managing so many cultural conflicts weighed heavily on them. As I sought the Lord’s direction on what specifically we were to do, I sensed him say, “It will be easier to heal those who are currently leading than to find and raise up new leaders.”
A recent Christianity Today article referenced a survey by the Hartford Institute for Religious Research which indicated that the percentage of Pastors who have considered leaving pastoral ministry has risen drastically in the last 5 years, jumping from around 37% to over 53%.
This became our mandate. To minister to those currently leading. To go to those that often go unseen and underappreciated. The small church pastors… the planters… the one’s that make up the vast majority of churches, not only within our movement but in the United States in general.
Many of these pastors will be bivocational. Many of their churches operate on very small budgets. This means that they rarely invite speakers in because they feel unable to afford the expense of outside ministers. This has been one of the key elements in our strategy. Fueled by our desire to minister to those leaders who are most in need, we have refused to set a fee to come to their church. This has opened opportunities to visit churches and pastors that would have never felt able to invite us otherwise.
In one recent church the pastors confessed to wrestling with decisions on whether or not to remain in ministry due to health and financial pressures. After prayer and some prophetic encouragement we left. They called a couple of weeks later, excited to tell us how everything had changed dramatically for the better and the words we had given had sustained and guided them.
This year we ministered in 42 churches, almost half were under 50 people and fewer than 10 were over 100.
This doesn’t take into account the 5 international trips that we participated in and the churches and leaders we encountered abroad. There is great need around the world and we are seeing more opportunities opening up there. We have current invitations for next year in Colombia, Kenya, Cuba and Cote D’Iviore. The opportunities exceed our resources.
The only way this ministry is sustainable is through donors… through people like you partnering with us through your one-time gifts, and even more so, through your ongoing monthly support.
From the beginning of Metron Ministries I have been reticent to ask specific people for support. I have felt like I was supposed to just trust God to supply our needs and he has always provided. But recently I had a dream in which I felt the Lord instructing me to create a page with 6 monthly giving options, each option with a specific number of donors.
In the dream the page looked much like this image.
I saw a single opportunity for a $1000/month donor, 2 spots for $500/month, 4 spots for $250, 5 spots for $200, 10 spots for 100, and 20 spots for $50. As I envisioned it, you would select your tier and that option would 'check' and no longer be available.
Well, I have attempted to reproduce this idea… the technology for much of it has escaped me but I have designed a page with the tiers and goals, and on Giving Tuesday, December 3rd, I will be sending that out to most of our mailing list and to the churches we have ministered in. (preview giving page)
It is my prayer that God will stir you to say yes to taking one of these 42 support optportunities as we follow God’s leading into next year.
If you are already supporting Metron monthly, then you don’t have to change anything. If you have given one-time gifts before, consider whether you might want to become a regular supporter.
Either way, please continue to pray for us. We feel your prayers and your love. We are constantly reminded and amazed at how so many of you have remained faithful on this journey with us.
With love,
Duke and Marie
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