As I meet with churches, I want to hear about their mission and vision. I saw a great tweet yesterday from @acts29 that said:
The church is not the mission, it is the mission sending agency.
As we discuss the mission and vision of the church we end up talking about the ministries of the church. It is the ministries of the church that enables the church to accomplish the mission of the church. We were given the Great Commission in Matthew 28:16-20 and it is from the great commission that churches can develop the ministries to reach people and serve the body of Christ.
For use here, let me further define the word ministry. The dictionary defines ministry as the act of serving, or One that serves as a means; instrumentality. I would like to propose that an effective ministry of the church is one that serves people and reaches people with the focused and direct intent to accomplish the mission and vision of the church, reaching people for Christ. The church that is on mission has ministries that take the Gospel to the world, whether it is your neighborhood or to another nation. Lastly it is the ministries of the church that provide a place for every member to be a minister.
One of my first questions about the ministries of a church is how does each ministry fit with the mission and vision and with the resources that have been entrusted to the church. It is important to realize that the effectiveness of a ministry can be limited or maximized by the facilities in which the ministry is housed. For example, if the average age of Church X is 27, and there are many young married couples, this church will need to have strong nursery facilities. Ministries that will reach this group and their friends will likely center around a Mother's Day out or other activities for young families. If Church X has limited nursery space and no room to expand there is a cost to be counted here as it will be less likely that additional families will be added if there is not sufficient space for the children. The concept of the sanctuary being 80% full and the need to add a service applies in the nursery as well. I have observed that many families will attend Church Y based on the facilities and comfort with the children's area environment despite the parents preference of the preaching at Church X.
I believe church growth is most dynamic when a church enables and encourages every member to be a minister. When the "Jones" family is active and engaged in the mission of the church they take the mission to their neighborhood, office, and school. They will invite the people they meet and bring them to church. The cost to be counted today is what is the lost opportunity cost when your facilities do not meet the needs of your members and the people that they may bring. Whether you rent a temporary space or if you are a mega-church the question remains, do our facilities allow us to effectively "Do" ministry? If the ministry is just serving existing members and not growing and reaching people is it really a ministry? If the ministry is not reaching people I would call it a program and not a ministry.
As your staff team evaluates your ministries, ask your team how your facilities allow the ministry to be effective. You may discern you need to add another service to have more classroom space. Maybe you need a midweek youth service. If you realize that your current facility needs to be expanded or you need to consider alternate facilities then it may be time to count the cost to expand or relocate. These discussions among your team will enable you to evaluate your ministries and in turn change those ministries to maximize their effectiveness and bear fruit.
The professionals at The Church Consultants assist churches as they consider these questions. If you would like a free consultation please contact John Muzyka at John@TheChurchConsultants.com.
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