As the Executive Director of the Alaska Baptist Convention, my husband receives scores of inquiries about being a pastor in Alaska. The lure of ministering in the Last Frontier excites the heart of many a pastor, especially if he happens to enjoy hunting, fishing, and a wilderness adventure.

Long-time Alaskans have seen many pastors come and go. When a new pastor arrives from the “lower 48,” old-timers roll their eyes and bet on how long he will last. The odds soar higher if the pastor is a Southerner who hasn’t experienced snow or the lack of sweet tea.

Now, it doesn’t always happen this way. We’ve seen several Southern pastors come and stay for many years. Unfortunately, these pastors tend to be the exception.

It seems that ministers often arrive in Alaska looking for a wilderness adventure, but the reality is they discover a spiritually challenging wilderness.

The majority of Alaskan churches are small, usually under 100 people. Except for a few churches in the larger cities, most pastors are bi-vocational.

The truth is we’ve already reached the easy places in Alaska. The larger cities have numerous churches. Sadly, many remote villages and towns have no evangelical presence. Few people want to go live in the bush, far from conveniences, and accessible only by plane or boat. Our villages range in size from a tiny village of 40 to a larger one of 1,000.

We need pastors willing to go to the hard places.

We have a dear friend, Rodney, who pastored in Alaska for more than twenty years. After completing seminary, Rodney followed God’s call and moved to Alaska. Rodney began working at the local Post Office, where his spot at the front counter became his community pulpit. People loved going to Rodney’s line because they knew he would speak words of encouragement and pray for them.

Eventually, friends approached Rodney about the need for a church in a community on the edge of town. This community was in a rough area that was known for drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence and consisted of many broken families. Rodney and his wife felt God’s leading, and they started a church in this challenging community.

Rodney persevered through tough times, financial hardship, and the loss of two buildings due to fire. He reached into the community by loving their children. He watched a generation of children grow up, who then began sending their children to his church.

This last year, Rodney died in an accident while he was plowing snow in his driveway. An everyday activity in the Alaskan winter, but one that ended tragically in this instance.

Rodney was a humble man. He followed God’s call and always gave all the praise to God. However, in his death, the realization of what this loving pastor had accomplished in a community full of darkness came to light. Two things stood out to me during this time.

First, Rodney’s workplace had served as his pulpit into the community. His front counter at the Post Office overflowed with flowers, cards, and remembrances from his customers. This humble man touched an amazing number of people’s lives as he shared Jesus in his workplace.

Secondly, the simple fact that Rodney stayed and invested his life in the community where God had called him made all the difference.  Rodney’s small church overflowed with people at his memorial service. The sanctuary filled to standing room only and the overflow sat outside the doors in the fellowship hall. The tables set up for the reception groaned under the cookies and snacks that the community ladies provided.

A couple of years before his death, an article about Rodney appeared in the Southwestern News. This quote from Rodney reveals his heart as a pastor.

“Statistically, my pastorate may never be perceived as a successful pastorate, but I have remained true to what God called me to, and so [even if] it’s only going to be a success in God’s eyes, that’s where I have to leave that. Success will be measured as we continue to see lives changed through the work of Jesus.

(Covington, Adam. “A Long and Hard Road: Following God’s Call to the Land of the Midnight Sun.” Southwestern News Summer 2015: 44-49. Print)

Alaska needs pastors like Rodney. Men called by God ready to shine light in the darkness. Pastors who measure success through God’s eyes, and by lives changed.

Alaska needs those ready to minister in the hard places.