Before I go...

I wrote earlier that I've never been seriously connected to a church when a new minister has arrived. Additionally, only once have I been actively involved in a church when a minister has given their departing sermon.

Whenever I've moved on from a congregation I've never preached on my last Sunday.

But I wonder what I would say.

I suspect it would be, without wanting to give the impression that I'm a departing superstar, that things will be okay.

The reason? Because God is in control. He is faithful to them and He calls them to be faithful to Him. He is in charge of what happens to the church.

I would ask members of the congregation (particularly the elder ones) to recall times when ministers have left previously and share how God came through then. The church should be encouraged that just because the minister leaves the ministry does not stop.

More so, I would remind the believers that they continue to do God's work due to the Spirit of God that dwells within and empowers them with gifts of the Spirit. Each of them is still just as able and invited to be a part of what God is doing in the world as they were the week before.