April-May 2008

VITAL SIGNS #7: EFFECTIVE APPROACHES

The seventh and final Vital Sign of the Alive, Dynamic, Fruitful Church is foundational to accomplishing the first six. The ministry of partnership with Christ as He builds His church is not simply approached and tackled (I’ll give it my best shot), it is with prayerful discernment that the approach is analyzed to determine the most effective strategy to accomplish the ministry assigned. There are a number of ways to accomplish that. When I was in church planting and someone came to me and said that they felt we should add a certain program, I had my response ready. Does it fit our mission? Does it address a need? Do we have a leader? Do we have a place to meet?

It is crucial to define the mission. Jesus did this in His commission to His followers. “Go and make disciples…” (Matthew 28:19). Most church vision statements contain several components: worship, evangelism, discipleship. Once the mission is defined, ministry is then formulated to accomplish the vision. If a ministry does not fit into the primary vision focus, it is laid aside.

Then goals are projected. For example, in five years we believe God desires for us to have 185 worshippers gathered together Sunday for celebration with fifteen small groups meeting through the week for relationship development, discipleship and training in faith sharing. So when someone asks to start a men's group, it’s not a tag on, it fits the goals and fills a felt need.

Now, do we have someone to lead this ministry? Not just a warm body, but a gifted leader. Generally, when a person has a passion for a particular ministry, it is an indication that the person may have a gift to lead or contribute toward the advancement of that ministry. Matching gifting / passion with ministry is the key effective approach to accomplishing lasting ministry. When a person serves in their area of strong gifting, ministry is fun, fulfilling, and generally productive. If a person is doing a ministry simply because the position needs to be filled, generally the ministry suffers over time and the person feels tired and unfulfilled.

Evaluation is extremely helpful to leaders and ministry. An annual evaluation of ministry leaders helps in growth development, shows caring concern, affirmation and appreciation for the leader, plus helps address needs before they become counter-productive. Further, ministry programs deserve evaluation and improvement, recognizing that the interests and needs of people take precedent over established programs. A good question to ask is, “How is this ministry (minister) bringing honor to God through fulfilling our God-inspired mission goals?”

Encouragement in ministry is realized through funding priorities that enable growth. I am convinced that 10% Cooperative Ministries outreach giving and 10% local outreach ministry funding is a healthy balance for effective local and world-wide ministry operations.

It is important to realize that effective ministry grows out of effective meetings. A few crucial points are: come prepared; have an agenda; begin on time; conclude on time. Short meetings are usually better than long meetings. Have the right people in your meetings. Over time and growth, functional structures shift from the representation model to the gift oriented model. Finally, don’t have too many meetings. Rather, empower gifted leaders with responsibility to do the ministry with balanced accountability.

I am in partnership and prayer together with you as we maximize functional structures for Christ’s honor.

Bishop John

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