TOPIFC Spring Conference 2026 | Pastoral Session | Dr. Sharon Harrington Staples

Main message: Pastoral leadership must adapt to the post-COVID church by rethinking how we measure and do ministry — shifting from attendance-focused, institution-preserving models to engagement-centered, digitally aware, emotionally healthy, mission-sustaining, and succession-minded approaches.

Key points:

• COVID revealed and accelerated preexisting shifts: attendance is changing from in-person presence to hybrid/digital engagement, so leaders should measure engagement not just pew counts.
• Mental and emotional health is a crisis for congregations and clergy; ministry needs to combine spiritual care with counseling, rest, and trauma-informed supports.
• Financial and operational models built for a previous era are unsustainable; focus should move from preserving buildings to sustaining the mission through innovation and new partnerships.
• Digital transformation must be treated as ministry formation (not merely transmission); invest in online strategy and personnel to build digital community.
• Youth and young-adult engagement requires adaptive, collaborative leadership models and intentional pathways for developing successors; many churches lack formal succession plans.

Scriptures mentioned: 1 Peter 4, Hebrews 10:25, John 4:23, Psalm 34:18, 1 Kings 19:4-8, Luke 14:28, Matthew 28:19