Tim,

I’m sure this is a hard day for everyone there. I just want you to also know that I’m proud of your leadership and that of the folks at GCC. My prayers are with you, the GCC leadership, those effected today and the rest of the staff.

J

whenever I hear this kind of thing it really irritates me… not just because I am on staff with a church and hope my position is not one to be eliminated, but because the lack of faith of some members to maintain their contributions to maintain the church body.

This IS a time when the church is needed more than any good and prosperous time. This is NOT a time to be reducing the church’s presence, but in the end it isn’t really up to the senior staff of the church, it is up to God’s people to support the church.

It is time for more than 20% of the church body to support the functions and calling of the church. If the typical 80% of members do not tithe, is it possible to ever change that and not have to go through eliminating vital positions in the church? I doubt it, but I hope so.

Some times in the church, as in business, removing positions is a needed thing, but the church could do so much more if it was properly support by its members (IMO).

Oh Loves! I am so sorry. Mt heart is breaking for you all. I am praying…

Oh man… my heart just aches for you guys.

I’ve been on both sides of the table through these situations and know how painful it can be.

I echo Scott’s comment about how frustrating it is to have a church that’s making such an impact, serving so many hurting people, but now needs to do even more with less.

The entire GCC team [paid & volunteer] are in our thoughts & prayers. May God use this time to further glorify his Church through you.

-Dawn & Keith

Just an opinion, and an observation…

Why cut staff first? Why not cut your extra campus first? I love what you guys are doing in Elkhart, but really… Granger isn’t that far away. Would the cost of leasing the theater, and staffing another campus, make up the salaries of your terminated employees? Haven’t a mutli-site church when you can’t pay your staff seems to be the cart before the horse kind of mentality.

Again, just an observation. I have no axe to grind (other than I’ve been on the receiving end of a “cut” before).

Man, that sucks. There’s no other way to say it. I’ve heard of plenty of churches recently who are feeling the pinch of this economic downturn.

I’m praying for you guys and all the churches who are dealing with these tough decisions right now.

Tim – it wasn’t long ago that I was on the receiving end of the “we’re letting you go” talk. Yes, at the time, there was a lot of bitterness. There was also a heavy reliance on faith that God would provide.

And then came the dry times. Knocking on doors hoping that God would open them and having them shut. Questioning my faith but not the One I have faith in. That ended up being 12 months of rising and falling hopes.

Then God showed up – He’s never early! Our God of the suddenlies brought a dream job out of the blue.

So what? Today is difficult for your 8 friends. And some may not stay friends. And those 8 are headed for even more pain. But in the end we trade our ashes for riches and see God work. Don’t keep them from receiving their blessing!

Tim – hurting with and for all of you today, as we just went through the same process. In our case, we managed to preserve positions – everybody kept their jobs, but several of us are now looking for ways to supplement an income that’s not enough to pay the bills.

Confident that God will prove Himself faithful, as he always does, and that we have a terrific opportunity to learn from these times…and at least we are not alone. The entire country is being hit.

Praying for the kingdom today -

The 8 friends, as well as the thousands that have lost their jobs just in the past couple of days, are in my prayers.

We shall persevere, through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

May God truly bless us all during these hard, painful times.

Wow. My heart breaks for all who are involved! I know this is not an any situation for any of you.

Last year our church went through the same experience and my husbands salary was DRASTICALLY cut. We know it was especially hard for our senior pastor because we weren’t only his staff members, but had been his best friends for fifteen years.

Around the same time, we read a quote from Craig Groshel that went something like this: Limited resources matched with increased passion yields exponential growth. Our whole staff embraced that idea and we have seen God do amazing things both in our church, and in the personal lives of those affected.

We are so thankful to serve a God who never leaves us or forsakes us! He has shown Himself faithful in every area that we’ve allowed Him to in the church and at home. Now, during this rough time for our country, is the time for the church to shine. We’ll be praying for all of you to connect with Him and His plan today.

prayed for you guys just now…

lifting up your church staff & entire body this morning – can only imagine what a difficult time it is. Looking forward to what God will do in the midst of these times!

Praying for/with you.

I will be praying for your church and the 8 families most effected. We will also lift Granger up at our church prayer meeting tonight. I love the innovative ways that Granger uses to reach people. May God continue to allow people meet Jesus through your ministry.

More now than ever, we need to cling to God’s promise to never leave us or forsake us.

I have been attending GCC for over two years. My wife and I are faithful with our tithing… yet just last week I was commenting to her how I wondered if GCC was feeling the economic impact since only a portion of people who attend actually give any money.

I’m sorry to hear my fears were realized.

I half heartedly agree with the previous comment about the Elkhart campus in light of whats happening… but frankly no one at GCC saw this coming 6 months ago. But I can’t see letting the main campus suffer if that income could be used to shore up whats already developed. I feel for the GCC leadership. These are hard decisions to make and more are probably certain for the future.

If I seem wavering in my thoughts– I am. These are not mere numbers etched on the belt of hard times, these are valued servants helping the community and the Kingdom.

As it has been expressed above, the idea that this has to be one of the options bothers me. However, from teh other side, we live in a community where so many jobs were lost, but also in a community where a decent portion of jobs where commission based, and unfortunately, basic mathematics tells us that 10% of $0 is $0. I offer my expertise in finance, as well as a servant’s heart to help in anyway I can, Tim.
My family and I love and trust our church leaders, and know this is a tough decision, but someone has to make them. We love you and are behind you in this decision. Let me know how I can help

Tim, we are praying for you, the senior staff, and people of GCC–as well as those who had to let go. Our church is in similar straits. I agree with Scott’s comments, also.

Bob & I talked this morning about some of this. We are reading through the Bible for 2009. God took the Israelites to the edge of the Red Sea and told Moses that He would show Himself faithful to His people–and He did. However, the people saw only fear and frustration until God provided the way of their escape.

I don’t know all that God has in mind for our nation and for the Church at this time. This I know, though, that a number of God’s people (me included) have been praying for some time that God would bring revival; that those of us who name the name of Christ would prostrate ourselves before God asking that He would start with me so that we as believers will live in complete and total obedience to Him. God almost always uses the tough times in our lives to bring us to the point where we will say “yes Lord…” and be completely dependent on Him. When the times are good, I am so prone to depend on me when the real blessing comes when I depend on Him. Ultimately, God is in control, He knows what lies ahead, and I believe that He will do a wonderful, glorious work in His people.

Praying for all of you.

Praying that His grace and daily bread is more than enough.

my heart is breaking for all families that are feeling the “trickle down effect”.

KNOW that you are ALL in my prayers.

i grew up in NE Ohio (General Motors country)I have heard/seen many of my family/friends effected in similar ways.

praying in SC.

Tim,
Wow. Such a horribly tough decision. I really applaud the way you and your board prayed over this. If you have an opprotunity, would pass along to those who have lost their jobs that the prayers of a great many youth ministers are with them, and you as well.
Godspeed,

Jason

The staff of our church in Florida will be praying for you as you continue to lead during these challenging times. We have been very close to making those same decisions.

We will pray that the Lord opens up a pathway for each of the affected family members.

Tim – there are no easy pieces to leading especially when it seems that things are out of your control. I commend you, Mark Beeson and your entire team for living on the edge and encouraging thousands to follow. My prayers are with you. I appreciate your transparency and your heart. Praying for your team… MICHAEL

Tim

Leadership is a blessing and also a curse. These are times where you’ve rather put your head in the sand and wait for the bad times to go away. It is in these times where God has placed you to make wise decisions which are probably very hard.

I’m reminded of the many times in scripture where God asked leaders to take just a few soldiers to conquer an enemy. It would have been hard to convince the army that fewer is better … but God was always faithful. God will be faithful in Granger and in the lives of the 8 staff members who’ve lost their job.

I’m praying for you up here in Canada!

Tim,

Praying for Granger, your congregation and your community.

Grace to you,

jhook

praying bro…

While I am sad for you and GCC, I applaud you and the staff there for making this tough decision… It would have been easier to cut Elkhart, more budgets, more projects – whatever, just to keep those 8 people there, but in the end, one has to recognize that God will complete His work there with or without staff at a church somewhere.

I think there is a great danger with churches right now that think they can continue to cut budgets, and “Borrow from themselves.” To think that cutting budgets alone will provide for good stewardship with the funding given to the church is just not enough. Staff must be paid, and unfortunately for some churches, that means that ministry dollars will never see any area of ministry

My prayers are with everyone at Granger and everywhere that have been touched by the economic times. So many times I see friendly faces at my work from Granger, and it amazes me how smiles never leave their places. God will hold these folks and keep them until they find a new place to share their love and hearts for Christ!!! Take care!

my heart aches to hear what you and your church family are going through.
i will definitely be praying for you guys.

peace and God bless,
iman

Dude. Wow. PRaying. Sucks. God is HUGE though.

Tim I’ve been praying all week for SMT and our staff. And I will continue to pray as people process and regroup from the decisions made today. Keep leading strong.

I recently had a chance to visit GCC and saw the amazing impact it has on the community there and around the world. I’ve seen the downward spiral created by cutting ministry budgets to sharply in an effort to retain staff members through hard times. It was a hard decision I’m sure, but you made the right one. Every church in the nation should want to have an Executive Pastor with your desire to see the kingdom above the ones you love most. I just might be the only one to say thank you. Thank you for doing the right thing. Thank you for legitimizing this option.

Jobless for 7 months,
Alex

My prayers are with each of you…our small group will add you to our prayer list.

He maketh no mistake and He will never leave you nor forsake you. In prayer for all dealing with this painful situation. Trust Him!

I can definately say “I know what it feels like…” Terry & I have both lost jobs this past year and yet, God had “provision we knew not of”. God does not promise the church exemption against hard times…just a way to get through them. I’m sure this decision was not easy and I will continue to keep both our SMT and GCC staff (past & present) in my prayers.

How do you transiton people out of ministry well? Is it even possible? How does Granger do it? Do you give them a couple of months notice, do you cut them emmedialty?
I have been on the end of two very bitter church transitions. It hurts bad!

Tim,
Not only is this a tough decision to make, but as I read your blog I am blown away by how bold your leadership is. Yes, it hurts to let people go, yes it causes bitterness, but in order to continue moving forward as a church and reaching those yet to hear the gospel, it’s sometimes essential to do this. It hurts to say that knowing that someone who was eliminated may read this.

I’m on staff at a large church and I wonder every day if I will lose my job. If my position were to be sacrificed so that more people will be reached, so be it. Despite trying my hardest to keep up with bills and pay off debt from bad mistakes I made earlier in life, it’s hard to make ends meet with every paycheck.

Instead of my wife staying at her job she felt God calling her to spend more time with the youth at our church. That killed our financial plan, but has taught us to lean on God EVEN MORE!

Praying for you guys, other churches, businesses, and families hurt during this time.

Hi Tim. Long time no talk. I was Executive Pastor at Crossroads in Mansfield until Thanksgiving of this past year, when I found myself on the receiving end of this talk. I lost my position because of the tough economic times. The message to me: “We simply can’t afford the executive tier any longer.” Honestly, Mary Kay and I haven’t landed on our feet yet. But I’m confident that God is in this and that He is faithful. We are more alive in our faith than ever. From an ex-Exec to a current one, my prayers are with you. Be happy you still have a job. Know that God will be faithful to those who don’t. In Him, Mark

Digital Financial Transparency

I will do all that I can to be as financially transparent with our new congregation as I can be. With the advances in web technology we should be able to inform our parishioners exactly where we stand on a month to month basis.

Feeling your pain today. It is hard enough to tell anyone that their job is gone but to tell people so close must be almost imposible. Praying you all at Granger and all the people affected by this.

For a year now I have lived in the white-hot center of the meltdown of the American economy.” Elkhart. My Business is largely connected to the American Auto Makers and the local RV Industries. There are a few points expressed here that encourage me and strengthen my faith.
The GCC leadership through God driven inspiration has decided to still support a missionary style approach to The Elkhart campus. If Elkhart is the white-hot center of the meltdown of the American economy”, Then we should be there, Then we should Trust God.
We should “get in that pit with a lion on a snowy day!” What I mean is “Courage”, I know it hurts, it is one of those pains that stings to the bone, I’ve felt it 3 times this past year as more and more of my friends I had to asked to be brave and walk them to the door.
We are in a fight against an enemy who is trying to destroy us. “Courage & Faith my GCC family, Courage and Faith! We will take the wounds our enemy offers knowing that we have Almighty God’s help; we will win in the end.
Not wanting to sound overly metaphoric to end my point. But I say this seriously “Trust God”, he knows what he is doing and we just need to pray for his will in our lives and our friend’s and families lives and our country & church and have Courage & Faith!

Tim, I can completely identify. Over the last year, between the economy and leadership changes, our staff is half the size it was in 2007. As much as it hurts to let people go, if they have a good, open, receptive attitude, it’s a little less painful. I’m praying for y’all.

Hey Tim,
A lot of us follow your blog. You could have talked about anything today but this issue. We all didn’t need to know, but you hung it out there for us all. Thanks for being so transparent with us. I have had to let good friends go in the past in churches I’ve served in so I understand your angst this morning. I’ll be praying for those dear souls that no long serve @ Granger. Blessings on them all.

Blessings on you, Tim!

Dave

Tim,

I don’t disagree that the economy has had an effect on your church. But, I know many churches that have seen growth in the past year. I’m sure your case is different, that your team made entirely appropriate decisions, and that the economy derailed you completely unexpectedly.

But I do know that a lot of people read your blog, Tim, and I want you to watch out for giving them permission to blame their own failures on the scapegoat that is the economy.

If it be of any comfort, please know that 1/2 million folks are losing their jobs every 30 days (roughly).
People at work feel they are contributing to the success of their employer. They feel vital and meaningful.

When they are let go, many go into a deep depression or funk, feeling there is something wrong with them.

Their employer goes on with life, producing whatever they used to do, and generally at a hefty salary. A feeling of unfairness sets in as an icing to the cake of depression.

Your post title “Pain” is never heard by laid-off workers. They only feel their own pain.

For you to express the pain YOU have in letting people go, allows them to know their true value to you. The abyss to which they plunge is likely far more shallow as a result; and their recovery perhaps a bit easier in future months and years simply by knowing their absence from you, is as Pain-ful, as your absence from them.

Dismissal today is frivilous.
Some have been let go by email or text message as a group. It is humiliating. There is NO feeling of pain on the dismissing party as they utter “clear your desk and be escorted out in 15 minutes”.
If there be any pain, it is well disguised (likely a legal ramification; procedures are well set to avoid lawsuits).

Pain shared is cut in half.
Joys shared are doubled.

Please have your missing staff one day share their joys here, as you have shared your pain.

Dawn & Keith – thanks for your prayers…we have felt it over the past few days.

Art – you probably missed my words above…we did not cut staff first. Personnel was the last thing we cut. We made cuts in every ministry area, capital expense and salary adjustments that were possible–without compromising the mission God has called us to.

Our call is to help people in our community take their next step toward Christ. In this climate when the people of Elkhart are hurting so much through high unemployment–it never crossed our mind to not continue to build a community of faith there.

We don’t have a “main campus.” We have a church that meets in two locations. And at both sites there are people far from God who need to know how much they matter.

Tim,

I am praying for you and your team. You guys are great and the fact that you have been able to weather this economic storm this long without layoffs shows that strong leadership at Granger.