Or: What It Means to Pastor a Church near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
I’ve been a pastor for more than thirty years, and I’ve always looked forward to pastoring in the summer. Everything slows down. Congregations and church staff go on vacation. Since churches build their ministry around the school year, leaders suspend many programs until school returns. Summer is usually a time to plan for fall, winter, and spring.
When school lets out, one event usually dominates the life of the church: Vacation Bible School (VBS). In many cases, VBS serves the entire family. We fill VBS with games, crafts, fellowship, Bible study, and the good news that Jesus has the power to forgive our sins.
Once VBS ends, churches typically take a summer breather from ministry—aside from a mission trip or two thrown in for good measure.
Pastoring First Baptist Church in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, for the past four years has upended my summer church experience. The school calendar still shapes our rhythm, but tourism drives our ministry.
Each year, millions of people drive past the front doors of our church. In the summer, we welcome large numbers of tourists who join us each Sunday morning for worship.
Ministry to our guests matters, but most of our summer ministry serves the workers who come into town to support tourism.
Each summer, we—and the ministries we host in our building—feed hundreds of international college students who come to our community to work in some of our most popular attractions. We also welcome a large group of college students from across the United States who worship with us each week.
For several years, FBC – Pigeon Forge has not held Vacation Bible School. This summer, we will host a one-day VBS on June 12th. If you are in town to visit Dollywood or the Great Smoky Mountains, please join us.
Summer is very busy at FBC Pigeon Forge. If you are in town, please join us for worship. Go to our website for details.
More importantly, please pray for our small congregation of mostly senior adults, as we ask God to help us impact the world from Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
Regards,
Terry
