Standing Stone
Providing free, confidential spiritual care for pastors, priests, and ministry leaders traversing the often-difficult terrain of ministry life.
STANDING STONE SHEPHERDS
Standing Stone shepherds are men and women who have been involved in pastoral ministry for years. They are a diverse group of servants who have a desire to care for individuals and couples who have dedicated their lives to serve churches, ministry organizations, and missionary work in the United States and around the world.
Standing Stone has raised up a team of shepherds who are familiar with the often difficult terrain of ministry life. Ministers who minister to ministry leaders, pastors who pastor the pastors. Knowing the often isolating and lonely context of ministry, the challenges, difficulties, and frustrations that are all too common, Standing Stone shepherds walk with ministry and create space to talk, process, and pray through what happening in life and ministry.
Every ministry leaders needs someone in their corner. That’s what Standing Stone shepherds do!
“As I have continued to walk down the path of vocational ministry I’ve learned how vital it is to regularly have points of renewal and refreshment in the form of someone who is there to care for you and speak into your life. A ministry like Standing is so important because as leaders, we are so tempted to neglect our own care, to neglect what’s happening in our own heart as we serve the Lord. I think it’s so important to think about how we prioritize regularly times with wise and loving people who really care for you and the longevity of your ministry.”
— Min Soo Choi, Newberg Oregon
To do this important work each Standing Stone shepherd gathers a team of people to partner with them in this vital ministry. These partners make up a Standing Stone shepherd’s financial ministry support team and prayer partners. This allows each shepherd to devote their time to caring for pastors and ministry leaders without needing to charge a fee. Asking nothing from those they serve allows our shepherds to build caring and trusted relationships with pastors and other ministry leaders, keeping them healthy and strong to lead healthy and strong ministries.
Erik Willits
Standing Stone Shepherd
Erik has served in ministry for over 25 years. He knows the joys and challenges of pastoral ministry. His heart is to walk alongside pastors and ministry leaders, helping them to traverse the often difficult terrain of ministry life. He does this through his work with Standing Stone Ministry, whose mission is, “To guide ministry leaders into healthy ministry.”
Erik lives in Franklin, TN with his wife, Andrea, and their three children, Jack, Reese, & Soren.
You can help provide spiritual care to pastors and ministry leaders by partnering with Erik and Standing Stone Ministry.
“Leadership involves a very peculiar kind of loneliness.”
Ruth Haley Barton
Strengthening the Soul of your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry
More on the WHY and HOW of Standing Stone Ministry.
Spiritual Care and
Cultivating a Relational Constellation
I often think of this idea, which I first heard from Bishop Todd Hunter, that we all need a constellation of people to help us thrive in life and ministry. The more I work with pastors, the more I’m convinced that one of the people in that constellation should focus on our spiritual life, our soul. Therapy, coaching, and mentors are incredible, but who is caring for your inner life? Who is helping you tend to God’s work in your life and the Spirit’s direction?
My work with Standing Stone does just that! Helping ministry leaders navigate the often-difficult terrain of ministry life. What we do isn’t coaching or therapy. It’s spiritual companionship—it’s soul care, specifically for the ministry leader; the pastor, priest, ministry staff, Christian non-profit leader. It’s a ministry for the people who are constantly caring for others but frequently forget to care for themselves. Who is pastoring the pastor, shepherding the shepherd? If the stats are correct, loneliness and burnout are rampant in the church among her leaders. We all need someone to care for us, someone to help us tend to our inner life and specifically, our life with God. Pastors especially need this sort of spiritual care.
Having experienced the highs and lows of ministry life myself—working at large and small churches, planting churches, and leading a nonprofit—I can attest to the difficulty of ministry and the gift and necessity of a spiritual-focused companion. At Standing Stone, we want to help ministry leaders before crisis hits and burnout is acute. I want to walk with leaders who feel like leaving ministry is the only viable option. Our goal is “to guide ministry leaders into healthy ministry.”
If this sounds like something that would be helpful to you or someone you know, I would love to connect and share more about what we do and how I might help.
Another beautiful aspect of Standing Stone is that it’s free! Free, confidential soul care for any ministry leader in need! We do this because we don’t want anything to get in the way of a pastor getting the kind of spiritual care they need.
Reach out today if you have any question or want to hear more about how Standing Stone can serve you.
Learn more about how Standing Stone works to care for pastors and ministry leaders.
Visit StandingStoneMinistry.org
erik willits
erik@erikwillits.com
* Standing Stone Ministry is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit and ECFA accredited.
For more information, visit StandingStoneMinistry.org
