Involving members in ministry part A Children learn by doing and new Christians learn the same way. Unfortunately, few churches today have training programs where new Christians can work alongside more mature Christians. Many church leaders have occupied the same positions since anyone can remember. The church needs to provide hands on training for newer Christians under experienced workers. By involving new Christians in ministry in the congregation and in Christian ministries, new Christians learn how to serve Christ and the Church. They learn how to minister as they minister to others. As new Christians minister to others, they not only learn to identify those who have needs and how to minister to them, they also develop a love and concern for them. However, few churches today involve many of their members in ministry. They wait until an opening occurs and try to pressure someone to take the position, even though that person may have no prior experience and may not have the gifts for it or the concern for it. As a result, many Churches today do little to train new Christians in ministry or reach people for Christ. Involving more members in ministry will allow the church to train more people for ministry and reach more people for Christ by providing hands on training for newer Christians under experienced workers. It also enables the church to train them for when the present leadership can no longer serve.
Archive for the ‘Church ministry’ Category
M-F Relations-C
Few people realize that the women’s liberation movement began as a movement of women in the church. Though Southern white churches generally supported slavery, many churches in the North strongly condemned it. The women heard about the poor treatment of slaves in the South through churches in the South that did not agree with slavery. The women had learned to raise money and organize through the church mission societies that raised funds to support missionaries and used that knowledge and the church communication networks to spread information about slavery. Though some preachers opposed slavery and preached against it, much of the work and the fund raising was done by the women’s societies in the church. Through their efforts, they learned that they needed the right to vote in order to pressure Congress to oppose slavery. The women’s liberation movement soon spread beyond slavery and the right to vote. Women soon took up the cause of temperance and other issues threatening women, families, and society, including getting greater protections for women in industry. Though the issues quickly spread beyond the church, the women of the church were instrumental in getting greater protections and opportunities for women and families. The modern feminist movement has become self-centered, seeking their own agenda, with no thought to its effect on other women. The liberal push has centered on getting free from the burden of having children. They have demonized motherhood and sought to abolish it, in spite of the fact that many women still desire having kids and a family. Liberal promoters have portrayed motherhood as a threat to women because they say it prevents them from getting and holding prestigious jobs, yet many women have still risen to highly prestigious jobs while raising a family. Many modern feminists look down on women who choose to stay home and raise their kids and portray motherhood as a degrading occupation, in spite of the fact that the family is instrumental in raising children. Many also portray marriage as enslavement of women and feel a woman should not limit herself to one man. Their efforts have done much to break down the institution of marriage and deprive women of the benefits of marriage. Liberal promoters have promoted abortion as a way of enabling women to have sex freely without having to worry about having children. In their zeal to get rid of unwanted children, they have taken no thought about the women and girls who have faced unwanted pregnancies as a result of their promotion of free sex or the physical and emotional suffering they have endured due to their abortions. They have also not taken any thought to the millions of babies that have been aborted. The liberal churches have been caught up in the liberal philosophies and many support abortion. However many Bible-centered churches continue to fight to protect women and girls from exploitation by those who profit from abortion (see the section on “Where Are The Children” in “The Servant’s Heart”-Lulu Press).
Sixth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Oct 6
Encourage involvement-Many church positions are filled by a few central members. They often ignore the vast majority of members who are often little more than spectators. Many members don’t really feel a part of the church’s mission and don’t support it wholeheartedly. As a result, they are easily distracted by activities that may take them away from church. Involving more members in a church in the church’s ministry will increase the morale of the members and decrease the number of members who drift away from the church. By being actively involved in the church’s ministry, they feel a part of the church’s work and are more willing to support it financially and with their attendance and less likely to drift away from the church. It will also supply the workers needed to carry on the church’s ministry. Few churches make a real effort to enlist members in the churches program. They usually wait until an opening occurs and then try to twist the arm of one of their central members to take it on in addition to the other work they do and few approach members at large. Those recruited often have no interest and no experience in what they do. If the church does try to recruit help, it is normally between Easter and Pentecost when they recruit volunteers to help with summer activities but should be a year-long program to enlist members in active ministry. Many churches have a nomination committee selected at random but have little knowledge in recruiting personnel. They usually meet a few weeks before the annual meeting to nominate candidates to be elected to church positions but it should be a permanent committee of people with knowledge and experience in personnel recruitment that meets regularly with various members to inform them about opportunities for service in the church and community and helping them discover their talents. They should also help them find places in the church and community to serve. This allows the church to find people with an interest in what they do and allows time to train them before the workers take over the position.
Fifth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Sept 29
Adults-Dealing with Issues Many pastors tell me they don’t get involved in political issues, however many of those political issues are also moral issues. Supporting abortion isn’t just a political viewpoint, it is a violation of God’s moral law and destroys the fabric of the nation. Many adults have no other source of information besides the liberal media, which has increasingly pushed liberal agendas without any discussion. In fact, the liberal media often blocks any attempt to present the facts and allow voters to decide the issue for themselves. Politicians seek to control the population by controlling what they hear. If people only hear one view, they think it is true. As a result, the church must teach Christian values and help people decide what is right. Christians cannot live a Christian lifestyle unless they have the freedom to be able to do it. Liberal politicians and judges are determined to take away our right to do that through laws and judicial decisions. The church must help members understand the results of liberal policies and oppose attempts to impose liberal policies which are detrimental to the country and violate God’s moral law. If we are to maintain the right to spread the Gospel, we must oppose attempts to force Christians to go against their beliefs and support actions condemned by Scripture. That requires a membership that understands the issues and who votes in judges and politicians who will uphold citizen’s rights and the rule of law. Liberal politicians are trying to silence the church because they know that informed citizens will not fall for their lies.
Fourth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Sept 22
Youth-dealing with issues Many youth groups have lots of fun stuff but are short on teaching about the faith. In addition, most teaching is theological and does not deal with the basic issues young people are struggling with every day in school and at home. As a result, most youth drop out of church when they graduate from high school or before because they do not see the church having anything relevant to say in the issues they are struggling with. They will be discussing the issues with their classmates and teachers where they get a secular view, but youth groups need to have regular discussions of important issues they face so young people can get a Christian view of the issues. Without it, the youth accept the secular view by default because they do not have the knowledge to recognize the errors in liberal teachings. (see “Truly In The World, But Not Of It”-part A & B for information on important issues today. I also have a number of courses on Christian values in my series on Basic Christian Beliefs)
Third Sunday of Kingdomtide-Sept 15
Many churches are building huge children’s programs and many also are seeking young pastors to lead youth programs as their second pastor, but that is a big mistake. Youth are at a critical time in their life and are making decisions about the rest of their life so it is important to reach them, however, many young people leave their local church after graduating to go to college or pursue a career and do not return, because the youth programs are not helping them deal with the problems they face. In addition, it is hard to combat the influence of the world in only a couple hours a week, so if the church doesn’t also reach the parents, they fight a very difficult battle. They make up a small part of the congregation and require large amounts of resources, yet contribute very little to the church financially. The same goes for children’s programs. It is important to maximize resources to get the most out of them and to pour large amounts of resources on a small segment of the congregation while neglecting the rest of the congregation is not a wise use of resources. While young pastors may understand what it means to be a student, they don’t understand what it means to be a parent, and they don’t have the experience to minister to parents, middle aged empty nesters, and the elderly. Far better to get an older pastor capable of ministering to all ages and have him recruit and train young adults in the congregation to lead the children’s and youth programs under his guidance.
Second Sunday of Kingdomtide-Sept 8
Organized worship Organized worship services-Worship leaders today often don’t realize the power of songs to evoke emotions and need to take serious thought to both the theme and the tempo of a worship service. Many worship services today are organized like the pastor’s sermons. They have no clear theme and don’t seem to lead anywhere. When I was in school, I was taught that a sermon should have an introduction, three main points, and a summary so that it will be easy to understand and remember. Many pastors today apparently didn’t learn that because their sermons seem to wander aimlessly. The worship service should be built around the theme of the pastor’s sermon so that it complements it and builds up to it. The tempo of songs should shift gradually, leading the members from where they were when they came to where they should be in meaningful worship. Many worship services today shift suddenly from fast and happy songs to slow and sorrowful ones and back, leaving the members with tangled emotions. Rather than drawing the members into a spirit of worship, they serve only to entertain.
Fifteenth Sunday of Pentecost-Aug 25.
Neighborhood Bible Studies-The sad fact is that today, very few churches have Bible Studies. Many have dropped adult Sunday School and have teaching for young children during church. As a result, few adult church members have much knowledge of the Bible or how it applies to their everyday life. There may be families in your neighborhood who attend a church but have no real Bible knowledge. Neighborhood Bible Studies often include people from a variety of denominations united in the common interest of getting to know more about the Bible. While some passages may refer to beliefs held differently by different churches, most of the Bible is not controversial. You either believe it or you don’t. There are good Bible study guides available. It will help if the leader studies the material ahead of time and refers to a good commentary to help understand the study guide. It is also good to ask members how they feel the information will benefit them. Due to busy schedules, the group might feel that once a week is too ambitious and the group may consider twice a month during the school year and once a month in the summer. The church might group its members together that live near each other but live at a distance from the church to form the core group in the beginning but should plan for growth as new members are brought in and the group split when it gets over 12-15. If the group gets too large, members might not feel comfortable sharing and are not likely to invite their friends.
Fourteenth Sunday of Pentecost-Aug 18
Mothers Clubs-Mothers who do not work may feel isolated and become frustrated with no social interaction besides their kids, especially if their husband is gone all day at work and even more so if they are a single parent and have no other adult interaction. Today, many mothers no longer have family living nearby to help. Since families are having fewer children, many mothers did not grow up with younger siblings and did not learn to care for children. As a result, they need help learning to manage their kids. They are glad to get together with other mothers who can help them to deal with the problems they face caring for young children. In addition, many parents no longer let their kids roam the neighborhood and it gives children the opportunity to play together and learn to deal with others. Mobile home parks, apartment complexes, and new neighborhoods often have a lot of families with young children, and are fertile for neighborhood mother’s clubs. It is good to have an older church woman whose kids are grown who can work with the young church mother who hosts the group to help her deal with problems she hasn’t experienced yet. Older unmarried college age girls can help watch the kids and keep them occupied while their mothers meet giving them valuable experience dealing with kids, or the mothers may take turns watching the kids if no one else is available. You may also have older women whose kids are grown teach a children’s Bible Club for the children of the mothers who participate and other neighborhood children who wish to attend. Since many households in poor areas are single parent households, there is also a need for social and spiritual ministry to the mothers, but many churches aren’t interested in reaching out to the mothers. Churches often only provide children’s activities one day a week, but because of the neighborhood environment in poor areas, mothers have to keep close watch on their kids. As a result, the mothers take the time during after school programs for washing and cleaning. Such neighborhoods may require more work with the kids to free mothers for time to get together. Unfortunately, many of those that do run outside ministries do it to attract people to support their failing church and not to minister to those who are in need. Christ cared for the lost and ministered to the needs He met. He fed the hungry, healed the sick, and comforted those who grieved to meet their needs, not just to get them to follow Him and He calls the church to do the same.