Stay the Course: A Pastor’s Guide to Navigating the Restless Waters of Ministry

Pastoral ministry is hard. These days--with pandemics and cultural crises and distrust of the church higher than ever--it may be especially hard.

There is a reason an increasing number of pastors are depressed, burned out, leaving the ministry, or--worst of all--imploding their lives through moral failures.

Mike Minter planted a church in 1975, and after a long and faithful career in pastoral ministry, he is burdened to see so many struggling pastors. This book is born from both his experience and his concern. His heart is to help younger pastors make it through the ministry intact, and Stay the Course will do just that.

Mike was born into a Navy family in Providence, Rhode Island, and later attended the Naval Academy. He has a degree from Old Dominion University in Political Science. While traveling with a friend through Europe in 1970, Mike trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as his savior through this friend’s consistent witness.

With a growing desire to study and teach the Scriptures, Mike entered Florida Bible College in 1972 and graduated in 1974 with a degree in Bible. There, he met and married his wife, Kay, and was called to the ministry of church planting and pastoring. The first Bible study was held in a home in June of 1974, and the first Reston Bible Church service was in a hotel in March of 1975. After a long and faithful vocation as a pastor, Mike has a burden to help younger pastors navigate the turbulent waters of ministry. Mike and Kay live in Ashburn, VA, and have four adult children--Kelly, Megan, Katie, and David--and a growing number of grandchildren.