The Pastor's Blindside

By Nathan Camp

The Joy of the Beginning

After being on staff at a mega-church for several years, the Lord laid it on my heart to move to another state and plant a new church. This was a time of incredible blessing and dreaming. God raised up a small band of people who shared a vision for a multi-cultural, life-giving church in one of the most visited cities in our nation.

I still remember pulling out of my driveway with everything I owned in a trailer behind me, jumping out into the great unknown, on a mission from God. I was so full of faith and passion. I just knew God was going to rock our new city for Jesus!

After much preparation, planning and prayer, we launched our new church on Easter Sunday! Over 100 people joined us for that service! It was such an amazing time. I could visibly see my vision coming to pass.

If you're a church planter, you know how much time, energy and resources went into launching this new work. One thing I've found true about most planters is that we are willing to give and work way beyond normal. We will give all our money, work all our time and pray with all our passion to see the vision that God burned in our hearts, come to pass.

We lay it all on the line...we leave nothing on the field...we give it all.

That's what makes the next part of my story so intense.

Facing Attack-two weeks old and already sued

Two weeks into our church, we had a Labor Day picnic. I will never forget that day. There we were, a fledgling church, celebrating together, on the lake. I was rejoicing in the work God had done. We had launched and we were moving forward.

It was amidst this scene that I remember first hearing, "Someone's hurt!".  Above the sizzling burgers and the laughter of people hanging out, a buzz began to rise that someone aboard the boat the church was using, had gotten hurt.

Within minutes, the boat came easing it's way to the shore. And there, lying in the bow with tears streaming down her face, was one of our worship leaders...hardly moving.

This was no stranger; this was one of our church planting team members. This girl had left everything in Georgia and had stepped out in faith to help us plant this church. She was usually so fun and excited. But now, she was wet, shivering and crying. It was clear she was in pain, and she kept making mention that she felt like she had been stabbed in the back.

In what seemed like only a few moments, the paramedics were on the scene. They placed this girl into a neck brace, strapped her down on a dolly, put her in an ambulance, and in the blink of an eye she was off to the hospital. Once the ambulance pulled away, an eerie silence remained. No one knew what to do. It was clear that the fun and joyful celebration of the day couldn't go on as it had. Things had changed and everyone could feel it.

But no one could have imagined just how much change had taken place in that moment...not even I.

The New Reality

Later that evening, we got word that this girl had indeed hurt herself. While hitting a small wave, she unexplainably landed the wrong way and cracked a vertebrae in her back, which would require ongoing rehab. And while it sounded bad, within a few weeks' time, she was back in our church, wearing a back brace and leading worship with our team. Each week she seemed to be getting stronger and stronger. Things seemed to be going fine.

And then I received a phone call I will never forget.

It was my insurance agent on the line, calling to tell me that although the girl from our church was recovering from the accident ok, the girl's family was now suing our church for all of the medical bills.

A number totaling $100,000!

Things got silent again.

This kind of news hits you like a punch in the chest.

Instantly I began to inwardly question where we would get that kind of money? Would we have to sell everything the church owned in order to pay the debt? If the church assets weren't enough, would I, as the pastor, be personally responsible for this? Did I have any protection at all?

In that moment, I felt like I was watching my dream slip away.

Would all my hard work and effort be stripped to nothing?

Living Unprepared

Now, I can tell you that in all of my training, and the discipleship training leading up to my planting of our church, not once did anyone ever do a class on how to face a $100,000 lawsuit, two weeks into your church plant. I had no idea what to do. I could write a sermon on how to deal with suffering, but no one had taught me how to deal with lawsuits.

I was in uncharted territory.

What was I going to do? On what legal leg did I have to stand?

A Glimmer of Hope

It was there that I remembered StartCHURCH!

About 6 months before launching our church, I had called StartCHURCH to help me set up the legal side of my church. And I am so thankful they did!

While they were creating my legal foundation, they had foreseen the potential for these type of incidents and had worked hard to protect me in the event I encountered such an occurrence. I remember calling them, and hearing them reassure me that I was protected; that my church was not going to be stripped away; that all our assets weren't going to have to be sold; that we were going to be OK; that they had protected me...before I knew that I even knew I needed protecting.

And as it turns out, the lawsuit came and went, and because of good insurance and having the team at StartCHURCH protecting me through my legal documents, our ministry was almost unfazed by the lawsuit. We kept pressing in and pressing on and the church kept reaching more people.

Throughout the years I pastored that church, it is hard to believe how many times I had to call StartCHURCH with a problem, only to find out they had thought of these types of situations already for me, and had protected me from day one, even before I knew I needed it.

StartCHURCH protected my blindside!

And I was so grateful for it.

Joining the StartCHURCH team

Little did I know that one day I would transition out of my church plant and join the startCHURCH team.  Now, day in and day out, I get to talk with pastors and ministry leaders who, like me, are leveraging all they have to follow the dream God has put in their heart. But one of the scariest trends I see right now is how many pastors, churches and ministries are not protected from a legal attack.

These pastors have a vision, are growing a church or ministry, and are sowing blood, sweat and tears into seeing that dream fulfilled, but in their hustle and bustle to launch their ministry, they have neglected this vital area of their ministry and their legal house is not in order.

Most pastors are one lawsuit away from losing it all.

I call this their blindside!
And if that's you, you are not alone.

Most pastors are trained to preach and teach and make disciples, but few are told how to protect from a legal attack the ministries which they are giving their lives to build.  Few pastor's know how to set up the legal side of their ministry. They have launched out to preach the gospel, yet they are open to considerable attack; not from what they see, but from what they don't see.

They are open on their blindside!

Protecting pastors

This is what makes working at StartCHURCH so rewarding. Everyday we are helping protect the lives and livelihoods of pastors and ministry leaders all around the U.S. Everyday we help establish the legal protection churches and ministries need in today's world in order to go the distance.

Everyday we help protect the church's blindside!

How About You - Who has YOUR Blindside?

How about you, Pastor? Who has your blindside? As a pastor, you are always looking out for others. The question is, who is looking out for you?

Who is helping you protect what you have given so much to build? Who is on your team that you can trust to have the knowledge and expertise in this vital area?

I want to encourage you, if you haven't protected your legal side, now is the time! Don't put it off another day! The attack on your ministry probably won't happen out in the open. It will most likely happen where you least expect it.

Protecting your blindside is what we do!

Whether it's through our services package, providing you with the latest legal protection software, or through our conferences where we give you the wisdom and knowledge you need to navigate this ever-increasing, demanding legal landscape... StartCHURCH is here to protect your blindside!

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