The Bible speaks of the seed of the Word of God and of the Gospel. Then with joy we proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ every Lord’s day, trusting “it will not return empty” (Is 55:11) and God will bless the work. Yet we see the wood of the pews a little bit more every week as the attendance wanes. We pray and we think about the sower, the seed and the soils and rack our brains trying to figure out what’s wrong or what is missing and what we can do.
The last column we introduced five shifts in mindset, assumptions and behaviors that are necessary to move from declining to revitalization. In this edition we will define the three realms of the Venn Diagram. Then for future columns we will provide some handles for grabbing on and living into the practices more intentionally.
The Venn Diagram illustrates three realms that are intersecting and work together. The first circle or realm in red or rose color is a “seaworthy” Gospel ship. A ship is of course another metaphor used in the Bible to represent the church. So we adopt it with the point that it needs to be seaworthy. Wood alone can float on its own buoyancy and boats and ships can have holes in them. Neither of which are a good way to travel on water. So a functional gospel ship or church needs to at minimum be “sea-worthy” and not shipwrecked (1 Tim 1:9).
The second realm or circle in yellow we will call, “Growing People.” We celebrate spiritual growth through the proclamation of the Gospel and the administration of the sacrament along with all forms of Bible Study in groups or personally. Yet for this circle “growth” is meant more broadly. We would all agree that growing people is more than just the attainment of knowledge. Jesus said in Matthew 28:20, “teaching them to obey…” So in this realm the intentional effort is not just to pack the church and Bible class but also to take the time and invest personally in individuals so they more deliberately live out their life of faith and faithfulness.
Finally the third circle in green refers to externally focussed ministry. Here the emphasis is not attracting people to us through something we guess they might want. Rather it is entrusting the Body of Christ, the church, through their web and network of relationships, to bless the lives of those further from Jesus in both Word and deed. Then, through those often challenging relationships, we learn what would serve both them and their friends and network. This includes even enlisting them to participating in making it happen! There are so many blessings that can result.
Clearly we are not talking silver bullets here. It is an intentional shift from the mindset and strategy of a “come and get it” ministry, to one of a “freely you have received, freely give” ministry. This is as Jesus instructed the twelve in Matthew 10:8. So keep an eye on this column as we continue together and email your thoughts and ideas.
Rev. Scott Gress is believes in Growing People for Ministry by focussing on leadership, discipleship and teamwork. Contact Scott if you are interested in him working with you or your church. A free 30 minutes sample session is available to explore how you might work best together. The Coaching Leader Podcast is also available on iTunes and his YouTube page. You can contact Scott through email scottgress@me.com or his blog page scottgress.com or at 561-542-4472
Growing People for Ministry" Leadership + Discipleship + Teamwork