One day, there will be no more baby boomer pastors serving our churches.
That statement is not intended to be dramatic. It is simply reality. Every year, more pastors from the largest generation of ministers in American history retire. Every year, others finish their earthly race and enter the presence of the Lord.
When they are gone, many of their stories will be gone as well.
That would be a tremendous loss.
These pastors have lived through extraordinary decades of ministry. They have seen churches grow and churches decline. They have experienced revivals and conflicts. They have stood beside grieving families, celebrated countless baptisms, preached thousands of sermons, and watched God work in ways that only those in ministry can fully understand.
Those experiences should not disappear.
Every faithful pastor has a story worth preserving—not because the story is ultimately about the pastor, but because it is about God’s faithfulness through the pastor.
We Need Their Stories More Than Ever
The first people who need these stories are family members.
How many children and grandchildren know what their parent or grandparent experienced in ministry? How many know the sacrifices that were made? How many understand the moments when God clearly opened a door, answered a prayer, or provided exactly what was needed at just the right time?
Church members need these stories too.
Most members see only a small portion of a pastor’s life. They hear the sermons, but they rarely know about the prayers behind those sermons. They witness Sunday mornings but not the hospital visits, the late-night phone calls, the counseling sessions, or the tears shed after difficult church meetings.
Future pastors need these stories as well.
There is no substitute for the wisdom that comes from decades of faithful ministry. Seminaries teach theology. Conferences teach leadership. But experienced pastors teach perseverance. Their stories remind younger ministers that difficult seasons do not have to be the end of the journey.
The Window to Preserve These Memories Is Closing
Many pastors assume their experiences are not significant enough to record.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Faithfulness is significant.
Whether a pastor served a church of fifty or five thousand, those experiences matter. Whether these pastors spent their ministry in a rural community, a growing suburb, or a major city, they have learned lessons that others need to hear.
Unfortunately, too many pastors plan to write their stories “someday.”
For many, someday never comes. The memories begin to fade. Details become harder to recall. Then the opportunity is lost forever.
We cannot recover stories that were never written.
That is why I believe there is a genuine sense of urgency. We should encourage pastors to preserve their memories while they are still able to tell them in their own words.
A Simple Way to Leave a Lasting Legacy
That conviction led me to create My Story as a Pastor: A Guided Journal for Pastors.
This beautiful hardback journal is not another book to read. It is a book to write.
Instead of facing a blank page, pastors are guided through thoughtful questions and prompts that make it easy to record their lives and ministries. They can write about their call to ministry, their first church, memorable moments, leadership lessons, greatest joys, biggest challenges, humorous experiences, difficult decisions, and the many ways they witnessed God’s faithfulness.
The completed journal becomes much more than a book.
It becomes a treasured keepsake for children and grandchildren. It becomes part of a church’s history. It becomes a source of encouragement for younger pastors who can learn from someone who faithfully finished the race.
Most importantly, it becomes a testimony to the goodness and faithfulness of God across a lifetime of ministry.
If you are a baby boomer pastor, I encourage you to begin writing your story today. Don’t wait until retirement is behind you or until you think you have more time. Your experiences matter. Your wisdom matters. Your testimony matters.
If you know a pastor who has faithfully served for decades, consider giving this journal as a gift. It may become one of the most meaningful gifts pastors ever receives because it invites them to leave something that will outlive them.
Before we forget the baby boomer pastors, let’s preserve their stories.
Generations yet to come will be thankful that we did.
You can learn more about My Story as a Pastor: A Guided Journal for Pastors here. It is more than a journal. It is an opportunity to preserve a lifetime of God’s faithfulness before those memories are lost.
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