ROWLEY – Rowley’s first church has a new pastor who’s bringing a fresh approach to ministry in this growing community.
This fall, the Rev. G. Jeffrey MacDonald (Jeff) became the 44th pastor of First Congregational Church of Rowley, a United Church of Christ (UCC) congregation located downtown at 175 Main Street. The church traces its roots to Rowley’s origins in 1639. Now it’s looking to the future by repositioning itself to meet Rowley’s evolving needs.
That’s where MacDonald comes in. He’s charged with helping the congregation build on recent successful initiatives to serve the entire community – not only through religious programming, but also through partnerships and social enterprise.
“People are craving spaces where they can grow spiritually, make friends, serve neighbors, be authentic, feel appreciated and discern what ‘living well’ really means to them,” MacDonald said. “That’s the type of church I’ve found here in Rowley. I’m thrilled to help the congregation develop its many blessings for the good of the entire region.”
It won’t be a solo effort. MacDonald focuses on empowering others to reimagine possibilities within a Christian framework and collaborate in new ways. He’s written a book, Part-Time is Plenty: Thriving without Full-Time Clergy (Westminster John Knox Press, 2020), about congregations that have done better by a variety of measures when they stop depending on a full-time clergyperson and instead tap into myriad underutilized assets.
“Many churches have faced declining resources since the COVID pandemic,” said Nancy Schmidt, moderator (lay leader) of First Congregational Church of Rowley. “When it came time for our church to search for a pastor, our resources supported a part-time minister. However, we still felt we needed full-time ministry. We were concerned the two could not coexist. Then we met Rev. MacDonald. His experience and expertise are all about how churches can thrive with a part-time minister while continuing to be a spiritual resource in the community. This model embraces Christ’s teachings that we all have gifts and talents to offer. Together, with Rev. MacDonald, the mission of the First Congregational Church of Rowley remains consistent: a voice of hope serving the community. We now have one more voice!”
MacDonald tries to practice what he preaches, which means serving part-time as pastor while also working as a news reporter and consultant. He’s been a correspondent for USA Today, The Boston Globe, The Christian Science Monitor and other outlets. In consulting, he leads workshops for church organizations moving to leaner staffing models. His consulting clients include The United Church of Christ Pension Boards, The Unitarian Universalist Association and The American Baptist Churches of Maine among others.
MacDonald, who lives in Swampscott, has spent his ministry career in this region. Since graduating from Yale Divinity School in 2000, he’s pastored UCC congregations in Amesbury, Newbury, Nahant and Kensington, N.H. His covenant with Rowley is to serve a designated term of three years as the church pursues its repositioning goals.
“Rev. MacDonald’s guidance is instrumental in assisting our congregation in evaluating how to plan for our future; how to best align and organize resources to maximize the church’s mission,” Schmidt said. “His experience working with other churches, along with findings from his research, will help to inform our journey forward. We are grateful to have Rev. MacDonald as our part-time minister. Together, we indeed feel that our ‘cup runneth over!’.” ♦
