Developing Future Church Leaders
From child and youth ministry in Oklahoma to youth and residency ministry here in New Hampshire, Aaron Rathbone has been developing future church leaders for about 20 years. Today, Aaron is the Residency Program Director at Restoration House Ministries as well as the Next Gen Pastor at Movement Christian Church in Merrimack.
Aaron grew up as a pastor’s kid in Oklahoma and initially wanted nothing to do with it. He thought he would go to school to become a teacher or to coach basketball but then he got the call from God.
“Once I made the decision, I never looked back at my decision to be a part of ministry. A lot of times, it is the resistance of the initial call, not knowing where you fit in,” Rathbone says.
In Oklahoma, Rathbone grew the youth ministry program from 80 to 400 kids in 2 years. One of his most memorable experiences was expanding programming for the nationally known organization, CIY which stands for Christ In Youth. At that time, the organization did not have any programs for pre-teens. CIY thought this age group was too young but Rathbone thought otherwise.
“We started this weekend kind of event for that age group. Within 4 years, we had 700 kids showing up,” Rathbone says.
CIY saw the success and created a program for this group called Superstart. Today, 12 to 15 thousand pre-teens participate from all over the country.
Rathbone continued his youth ministry work when he moved to New England six years ago at Manchester Christian Church in Manchester. Today, at Restoration House Ministries, he recruits interns and recent graduates from bible colleges to come to New England to complete their 11-month residency in area churches.
“We’ve found it is easier to develop leaders and get them here while they’re younger. A lot of interns have stayed. They come out here and love New England and want to stay,” Rathbone says.
The residency program is teaching them leadership skills including time management and how to effectively navigate conflict based on different age groups. Many times, young pastors are navigating situations they have not personally experienced in their own lives yet. Rathbone says it is about leading with humility and mutual respect.
Rathbone is working with his third residency group and he hopes more and more of them will plant their roots down in New England like he did 6 years ago.
He says, “I’m not gonna lie, I actually hated New England the first year I was here. It was a culture shock. It took a while to get used to it. But now I can’t imagine going back.”
Restoration House Ministries is in the process of opening two new churches soon, Beacon Church in the Derry/Londonderry area and another church in Rutland, Vermont.
