Ministry comes alongside pastors, church leaders

A fairly new Oklahomabased ministry is focused on encouraging pastors and combating the sense of isolation that many clergy leaders sometimes feel.

Edify Leaders was founded by Ross Hill and Ray Sanders, a pair of ministry-minded men who said they have discovered over the years that clergy don't have anyone to turn to when they feel discouraged and in need of support.

Comfort and aid from the Lord is available, of course, but many pastors could use guidance and a listening ear offered by mentors with godly wisdom, Sanders said.

He said research indicates that some pastors without trustworthy close friends and mentors too often reach a point where they walk away from the leadership positions they were called to or they become despondent, with tragic results.

“We don't want to see another pastor go through what these other pastors have gone through. They either get out (of ministry), or they give up,” Sanders said. “At the end of the day, there are too many who have discovered they feel alone, they are feeling financial pressures, they are feeling marital pressures and have no one to talk to.”

Sanders said he and Hill started Edify Leaders about a year ago, and they will discuss the ministry's focus at a free “Edify Leadership Conference” set for Sept. 9-10 at Bethel Community Church in Yukon. He said the event will serve to introduce the ministry to pastors and their spouses from across the metro area and state. Attendees will learn how he and Hill use the examples of biblical men

of character like Jonathan and Jethro to help pastors navigate the challenges they face.

Sanders said the principles of Jesus also serve an integral role in the ministry's foundation.

“We give them what we call the `Three J model': We want to be a friend like Jonathan to them,” Sanders said. “We want to be a mentor and coach like Jethro, and we want to walk with them on their journey with Jesus like the disciples did on the road to Emmaus.”

He said he and Hill initially started a for-profit organization, which they still run, called Coaching Leaders, offering mentors for executives.

Sanders said Edify Leaders uses much the same mentorship model except it is biblically based, nonprofit and geared toward pastors.

He said pastors receive Edify Leaders mentoring at no cost because the nonprofit's program has received sponsorship.

Hill said he and Sanders aren't counselors but executive coaches who have served at the top level in full-time ministry and as ministers of the marketplace.

`A safe place'

About 50 pastors have been served through Edify Leaders.

The ministry recently remodeled a portion of a former monastery on 63 acres in northwest Oklahoma City where gatherings for executive coaching sessions and pastors' retreats for ministers and their spouses are being held.

Sanders said the ministry only has connected with male pastors, but female coaches soon will be onboard to serve pastors' wives and other women in ministry.

The Rev. Ray Rhoton, senior pastor of Bethel Community Church, said Hill began offering him Edify Leaders coaching about a year ago, and the ministry has been very helpful.

That's why he went to Sanders and Hill and offered his church as a place to have a conference where they can spread the word about their unique ministry, he said.

“I think one of the things pastors do is isolate themselves. You're used to carrying other people's burdens, and it's hard for a pastor to share their burdens with someone else,” Rhoton said. “Edify Leaders has been a safe place to bounce off ideas, a place to share struggles. I'm excited about it.”