Refuge City Church is led by a team of pastors. Currently, our Lead Pastors consist of three men: Matthew Thrower, Daniel Busch, & Robin McGinnis. Matthew serves as the Lead Pastor of Teaching and Theology. Dan serves as the Lead Pastor of Ministries and Leadership. Robin serves as the Lead Pastor of Worship.

We believe that a plurality of leadership is biblical. In the New Testament, we don’t see Christian leaders working alone. Jesus sent disciples out in twos. Paul even makes it clear that (for the most part) he worked with a team. Even our God expresses Himself in a triune nature between the Father, Son, and Spirit. God’s made us to function within a community of believers. From this, we can say that having multiple lead pastors is biblical.

Here are some reasons why we are approaching this model of ministry:

1. Because we have the gift of brotherhood. It’s a gift for us, and we believe it is the best gift when it’s available. We can do this because of the kind of brotherhood that exists between Robin, Daniel, and Matthew. We realize not every church has that. Our unified camaraderie gives us this option.

2. Empowerment. Our multi-lead pastor model reflects the strategy of Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 where he describes the body of Christ functioning more powerfully as a unified but diverse group. Diversity enhances the body’s ability, and unity makes sure that it works in cooperation. Robin, Dan and Matthew have the same philosophy and doctrinal convictions, but each also has a unique gifting that makes him effective in a given area. In other words, we have the belief that we are better when working together than apart.

3. Increases wisdom and decreases burdens. We are an elder led church. Many churches are scared of elder-led because they fear that it will give too much power to leaders. We think it does the opposite. Every decision we make occurs among spiritually mature and trusted brothers by consensus. When leaders are isolated, they tend to make decisions on their own. This increases the burden on the individual (alone in convincing an entire church of his direction) and it decreases the wisdom of the decision. If we are willing to share leadership in humility to trusted, proven people, then we will also share the burdens and be less likely to burn out.

4. Fiscal responsibility. At Refuge City Church, no one receives a salary. We want to keep our budget very slim so that we can continue to be a generous people to our church body and community. All three of our lead pastors work a full-time job and never intend to receive money from our church.

FAQs

• But I thought we are supposed to be raising up elders? Yes, we are. In fact, we are in the process of creating a path to eldership within our church. This does not mean they will be lead pastors, but it does mean they will share in other responsibilities, especially in caring for our church body.

• Who do we go to for pastoral support or any questions about the church? You can come to any of the pastors or elders with any concerns or needs/prayer concerns. One of us, if not all of us, will be there for you. However, if you have questions about the theology and teachings of our church, you will want to address those to Matthew. If you have questions about the vision, ministries, and other leadership questions, you’ll want to go to Daniel. If you have questions about the Sunday worship gathering, service, or music, you’ll want to see Robin.

We realize that ours is not the typical American model for church leadership. However, we remain vigilant in the approach of a biblical model of church leadership at Refuge City. We will always strive to be the church that God has called us to be.