Monday, June 29, 2009
Church Growth and Evangelists...
Last week I expressed my concern over the professional ministry model as a way to grow a church. I should make it clear that I believe that model is a great way to maintain a church. If you want to have a growing church, how about supporting evangelists, not ministers. I define ministers as those that minister to the believers. They work to help us. Evangelists make disciples. They work with non-Christians and new Christians. I am convinced this model fits more closely with Scripture.
How would it change the way we do church if we hired, or supported, staff to be evangelists? No more Youth Ministers unless they were working with kids outside our church. Connecting ministers would only be hired if they were busy connecting new converts to small groups and discipling ministries. Preachers would spend their "people time" with non believers.
So who will do the ministry? Members. Maybe we should handle the youth ministry, the children's ministry, and the admin tasks of the church. But members might need to be equipped for ministry. So let the staff spend 25% of their time on equipping members for ministry (not doing ministry -- equipping). What about members in need: addictions, family crisis, illness, etc? Elders will have to really shepherd. Staff will have to let them. Members will have to learn to bear each other's burdens.
So maybe new staff positions would not be about ministry, but about evangelism. Maybe we hire an full time evangelist. 75% of his time in making disciples, 25% in epuipping members to make disciples. And to make sure all our "ministries" have an evangelistic thrust. Maybe we hire a woman to be an evangelist to single Moms in our community. Maybe we hire a community evangelist -- not to do benevolence, but to use benevolence to open doors to share Jesus.
Some members would not like this. Correct. It will be difficult for some to realize that church is not going to be about them. The theory may be an easy sell, but not in practice. Focus would shift from assembly centered churches to life centered churches.
What about staff that is now working under the ministry model? If they are about power and influence, it would be a difficult transition. But I suspect many of our ministers would be liberated and energized to be evangelists.
So what do you think?
How would it change the way we do church if we hired, or supported, staff to be evangelists? No more Youth Ministers unless they were working with kids outside our church. Connecting ministers would only be hired if they were busy connecting new converts to small groups and discipling ministries. Preachers would spend their "people time" with non believers.
So who will do the ministry? Members. Maybe we should handle the youth ministry, the children's ministry, and the admin tasks of the church. But members might need to be equipped for ministry. So let the staff spend 25% of their time on equipping members for ministry (not doing ministry -- equipping). What about members in need: addictions, family crisis, illness, etc? Elders will have to really shepherd. Staff will have to let them. Members will have to learn to bear each other's burdens.
So maybe new staff positions would not be about ministry, but about evangelism. Maybe we hire an full time evangelist. 75% of his time in making disciples, 25% in epuipping members to make disciples. And to make sure all our "ministries" have an evangelistic thrust. Maybe we hire a woman to be an evangelist to single Moms in our community. Maybe we hire a community evangelist -- not to do benevolence, but to use benevolence to open doors to share Jesus.
Some members would not like this. Correct. It will be difficult for some to realize that church is not going to be about them. The theory may be an easy sell, but not in practice. Focus would shift from assembly centered churches to life centered churches.
What about staff that is now working under the ministry model? If they are about power and influence, it would be a difficult transition. But I suspect many of our ministers would be liberated and energized to be evangelists.
So what do you think?
Comments:
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While church maintenance is a must, I always thought church growth was approached in such a way that we missed a great many opportunities. There is no one more "on fire" than someone that is new to finding Christ. Rather than rein these new converts in because they lack "our" knowledge...set them loose on the city. Turn them loose on our congregations to rekindle the fires we as a church have let smolder too long.
I grew up hearing about "the good news". I now have a president that tells the world my nation is no longer a predominately Christian nation, and sadly there is much truth in what he stated.
Steve, your concept is hardly anything new to the church and it's very lifeblood, but I hope and pray for success in your endeavor to rekindle and bring new life to our role in the world as evangelist that have a heartfelt desire to share "The Good News".
I grew up hearing about "the good news". I now have a president that tells the world my nation is no longer a predominately Christian nation, and sadly there is much truth in what he stated.
Steve, your concept is hardly anything new to the church and it's very lifeblood, but I hope and pray for success in your endeavor to rekindle and bring new life to our role in the world as evangelist that have a heartfelt desire to share "The Good News".
The real question does become how to make this reality in our churches. Maybe Pat is right that enough new Christians would overwhelm us by force of their passion. Maybe that would fire us all up.
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