Local Church Pastor or Missionary Church Pastor?

I received a question from a fellow Missionary Pastor from the Philippines. Seeking your view on the issue.

A. Is there any distinction between local church pastor
& local missionary pastor? If there is/are what are those?

B. Can a local church pastor in a certain place be a missionary pastor in another place be at the same time? Is it scriptural? Is there any violation from God's word, or there are exemption? why?

A. First, the terms “local church pastor” and “local missionary pastor” are not found in the Bible. So, the answer to the question will depend on one’s definition of the terms.

In my understanding, a pastor is always the elder, overseer and bishop of a local church. His function is 1. Feeding the flock 2. Counseling and direction of the members and 3. Oversight of the ministry. A man is only a pastor when he is performing this role in a local church. We just had a preacher at our church who pastored one church for 38 years. He has now retired from the pastorate. He has a pastor, but he is not a pastor.

A missionary pastor, as I understand the term, would refer to a man who is the pastor of a local church that is either 1. Not yet confirmed (Acts 15:41). We usually use the term organizing the church today. or 2. In need of financial support.

In my opinion, the second is not an appropriate term. A missionary is not a missionary because of his need for money, but because of the work he performs. (That of reaching souls, planting new churches, and training pastors for those churches.)

I would say, therefore, that a missionary pastor is one who is leading a church that is not yet fully organized and is therefore still under the authority of his sending church. A man may pastor a fully organized church but be in need of financial assistance. I know many such pastors.

B. So can a man be a pastor of a local church and a pastor of a mission church at the same time?

I know of no Bible passage either restricting it or permitting it. I have known some pastors of very large and established churches who, for love of souls and church planting, have done the work of a missionary pastor while pastoring his established church. They held regularly scheduled services in their established church and afternoon services in their church plant. They then turned their church plant over to another man as soon as it was practical.

Prayerfully this will answer your friend’s question.

Pastor Marvin McKenzie

In the field