Nothing in life happens by accident….except for accidents!
I have only been in one automobile accident in my years of driving. I was headed to pick up donuts for some hungry church teens when a young lady, in a hurry, pulled out from my right and I hit her small car with our family van. I was rattled to the bones! …and even though I did not have any serious injuries, my body took weeks to recover. Unfortunately, our family van never did.
Is your ministry purposed or do things just happen by accident? To clarify, I’m sure you have a big ministry wall calendar somewhere on campus. You probably have a program that keeps track of events on a digital calendar…you may even have designated personnel to approve ministry events and input them into ‘the system.’ The problem with the model that was just described is that it does a great job organizing events but does a poor job of actually determining which events best accomplish the purpose of the local church.
To begin solving this problem, you must first determine the purpose of the local church. I know that sounds basic, but complex problems are often solved by analyzing basic facts. Now before you begin listing off three or four things that the local church is supposed to accomplish, I would challenge you to seek out the examples of the NT church found in Paul’s epistles. Paul speaks OFTEN on the purpose of the local church…edification, equipping, preaching and teaching, evangelizing, worship…make sure you know what you are trying to accomplish in specific ministries before you begin defending their existence.
I like to bow hunt. I’ll be honest, when I raise my bow in a practice session, it is easy for my mind to wander and as my sight pins come on the target I release the arrow. Do you know what I hit when I shoot this way? Not much! Why? If you don’t aim for the bullseye you will never hit the bullseye. What are you aiming for in your ministry? You have to know where you are aiming before you ever expect to accomplish your goals.
I appreciate the ministry mentors that have helped me see the need for purpose in every area of ministry. I hope you will determine to have a ministry that has a clear Biblical purpose and then is organized and structured to accomplish that purpose.
DJHarry Isaiah 64:8 We are the clay!