Wednesday, October 19, 2011
So are church projects/programs good or bad?
The answer is ... it depends. Why do you want the program, project, or ministry in question? I think there are three reasons most decide to implement new programs.
The first is because you need it. This is what happened in the first century church. Act 6 is a ministry/program to feed widows in the rapidly growing Jerusalem church. It was becoming a spiritual problem also. There is another fully developed ministry described in I Timothy 5, complete with detailed qualifications for those participating. It also deals with widows and evidently grew out of a recognized need. So when God is blessing your church and causing it to grow, you may find that their is a need for programs and ministries to have more attention.
Some programs are initiated because of the tremendous opportunity to make disciples. Over the past few years at Southern Hills, we have developed a ministry to Bhutanese refugees. Large numbers of these refugees ended up in Abilene and some of our members got involved. We have served hundreds of these in various ways including teaching English, helping with basic life skills, benevolence, teaching Bible classes, and now leadership training. We have lots of volunteers, then developed a budget, are allocating staff resources, and constantly adding projects as needs develop. It is as if God put a mission field right in our laps. And we have baptized around 30 of them so far.
Some programs begin because a church sees that as the secret to reverse their declining numbers, or to enable them to be the big church they envision becoming. Often the program is one that some other church (often the size they would like to be) has had success with. Or maybe they don't even know if it is succesful but since they do it we should so we can be like they are. And sometimes this approach can swell your numbers but I am not sure that is God growing your church.
So now someone may think it is a great idea to start a Bhutanese ministry. It sure has worked at Southern Hills. I would suggest you check and see if any Bhutanese actually are in your neighborhood first. It works for us because we saw an opportunity to reach people for Jesus and God has caused it to grow.
So I think programs and ministries that arise out of congregaitional needs are wonderful. I think ministries that develop because of the opportunity to make disciples are real blessings. And God may use these tools to grow your church into something you never even imagined.
But if a program is designed because you think it is the one that will save your dying church, or help you become the mega church you are sure God wants you to be ... I would suggest you are chasing the wrong goal.
We plant and water. God gives the increase. When we plan the increase, we find ourselves chasing every program or project that we think will make the difference. So always evaluate the motivation, the reason, for any project or program.
God does amazing things when we let Him grow our church. When we try to do the amazing things, it is us growing the church. Not the same.
The first is because you need it. This is what happened in the first century church. Act 6 is a ministry/program to feed widows in the rapidly growing Jerusalem church. It was becoming a spiritual problem also. There is another fully developed ministry described in I Timothy 5, complete with detailed qualifications for those participating. It also deals with widows and evidently grew out of a recognized need. So when God is blessing your church and causing it to grow, you may find that their is a need for programs and ministries to have more attention.
Some programs are initiated because of the tremendous opportunity to make disciples. Over the past few years at Southern Hills, we have developed a ministry to Bhutanese refugees. Large numbers of these refugees ended up in Abilene and some of our members got involved. We have served hundreds of these in various ways including teaching English, helping with basic life skills, benevolence, teaching Bible classes, and now leadership training. We have lots of volunteers, then developed a budget, are allocating staff resources, and constantly adding projects as needs develop. It is as if God put a mission field right in our laps. And we have baptized around 30 of them so far.
Some programs begin because a church sees that as the secret to reverse their declining numbers, or to enable them to be the big church they envision becoming. Often the program is one that some other church (often the size they would like to be) has had success with. Or maybe they don't even know if it is succesful but since they do it we should so we can be like they are. And sometimes this approach can swell your numbers but I am not sure that is God growing your church.
So now someone may think it is a great idea to start a Bhutanese ministry. It sure has worked at Southern Hills. I would suggest you check and see if any Bhutanese actually are in your neighborhood first. It works for us because we saw an opportunity to reach people for Jesus and God has caused it to grow.
So I think programs and ministries that arise out of congregaitional needs are wonderful. I think ministries that develop because of the opportunity to make disciples are real blessings. And God may use these tools to grow your church into something you never even imagined.
But if a program is designed because you think it is the one that will save your dying church, or help you become the mega church you are sure God wants you to be ... I would suggest you are chasing the wrong goal.
We plant and water. God gives the increase. When we plan the increase, we find ourselves chasing every program or project that we think will make the difference. So always evaluate the motivation, the reason, for any project or program.
God does amazing things when we let Him grow our church. When we try to do the amazing things, it is us growing the church. Not the same.
