When Sharon and Jay Guptill stepped into their current role as co-pastors of Browns Flat Fellowship in New Brunswick, they were stepping out of a traditional church ministry and out of a traditional leadership model.
After 15 years of church ministry where Jay was the lead pastor and Sharon was on staff, they felt called into a new season of service, launching “Made for More“ Ministries, a nonprofit that offers coaching, counseling and retreats to those in ministry contexts. At the same time, the district superintendent asked if they might consider taking a part-time call to serve Browns Flat Fellowship together.
They explored the district superintendent’s idea and felt led to take the assignment as co-pastors, affording the Guptills an opportunity to lead as equals, leaning into their individual strengths while sharing the ministry weight. That co-equal collaboration has shaped their engagement with their church; and it also formed their opinions on ways other churches might benefit from a collaborative leadership model.
In their previous church, they worked hard to ensure their working relationship was fair and professional, avoiding even the appearance of favoritism. But co-pastoring has allowed them to worry less about appearing a certain way and instead leaning into each of their gifts. A few key concepts have been important to the Guptills as they’ve taken on this assignment: “Yours, mine and ours,” “strengths-based ministry” and “sustainability” are among the most crucial. We’ll explore those more below.
Yours, mine and ours
“We came in saying we wanted to do this as co-pastors with equal responsibility,” Jay said. “That means identifying what’s ‘yours, mine and ours’ — and making sure we’re regularly updating each other on shared responsibilities while also staying in our own lanes.”
For Sharon, stepping into equal leadership required a mindset shift. “As a staff pastor, I was used to running decisions by Jay,” she reflected. “Now, I’ve had to learn to own my role fully and make decisions without feeling like I need permission.”
This mutual respect and balance have shaped the leadership culture at Browns Flat Fellowship. Instead of looking to a single pastor for direction, the congregation seems to have metabolized the shift toward two pastors. It’s slowed the decision-making down a bit (because collaboration always takes time) — but it’s also helped the Guptills and the congregation learn a lot about the value of thoughtfulness and consideration in decision-making.
Strengths-based ministry
While a lot of their work is collaborative, it’s not duplicative. One of the most significant benefits of co-pastoring is the ability to divide responsibilities according to strengths.
“Sharon is an ‘Activator’ — she’s great at getting things moving,” Jay said. “I’ve done a lot more funerals and financial management, so I tend to take those on. We don’t reinvent the wheel — we lean into what each of us does best.”
The “zone defense” approach allows both Sharon and Jay to stay engaged with things they delight in, while also stretching into areas that are beyond their comfort zones. Sometimes they visit congregants together, but other times they make a judgment about who might be the best person to see a specific parishioner. That flexibility allows them to care for the congregation in a way that a solo pastor might struggle to do alone.
That’s not to say co-pastoring is totally effortless, however. While co-pastoring has created new opportunities, it also presents unique challenges — especially for a couple who go home with the same leadership weight. The Guptills have had to purposefully maintain a healthy separation between their marriage and ministry, doing activities that “de-role” them from their church work (like pickleball groups or other friend-activities that stretch them beyond their church commitments).
“One of the things we have to watch out for is making sure we’re not always talking about church at home,” they shared. “We’ve learned to protect our Sabbath on Fridays, prioritizing our own spiritual journey rather than just ministry work.”
Sustainability
Beyond their own experience, the Guptills see co-pastoring as a model that can contribute to pastoral leadership sustainability. “I’ve seen how senior pastoring can weigh on a person, as they make decisions by themselves and carry that weight home with them,” reflected Sharon. “Having someone else with you in that process — just knowing you’re not alone — can make that kind of ministry more sustainable over time.”
Jay echoed this sentiment: “We’ve seen the impact of long-term pastoral leadership in contrast to churches that experience constant turnover. Co-pastoring has the potential to prevent burnout and create continuity in leadership.” But churches considering co-pastoring also need to be aware of certain pitfalls or challenges, too.
The Guptills emphasize the importance of alignment. “It’s like parenting — you need a united front,” Jay said. “There will be different perspectives, but both pastors need to be fully committed to leading together.”
“If one pastor is really in charge, and the other is overridden, the congregation will begin to know what the real structure is. Both parties need to be committed to the idea and committed to do this together for the long-haul. And having a coach or outside voice to speak into that can be so important.” Sharon and Jay are often that outside voice for others through their work with Made for More and their web of relationships with other ministers. They’re excited to see how that work can continue to intersect with their own rootedness in sustainable congregational leadership.
To learn more about Sharon and Jay’s work with other congregations, visit madeformoreministries.ca; and for more stories of hope and holiness emerging in local congregations, visit wesleyan.org/news!
Rev. Ethan Linder is the pastor of discipleship at College Wesleyan Church in Marion, Indiana, and contributing editor at The Wesleyan Church’s Education and Clergy Development Division.
