Walk the Walk

An Army buddy of mine used to say; don’t just talk about it be about it. This is like the old saying, “you can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk”. I read an interesting quote the other day that said millennials are tired of hearing churches talk about ministry with no action behind it. So I thought, I would write this easy going blog that just simply states; Church Members should be about the ministry of their church all the time. Simple enough, but, I know there is always a but, if it were this simple then why aren’t we doing it? I have come up with a few reasons and will highlight them below.

Carey Nieuwhof, founding Pastor at Connexus Church and author of Didn’t See It Coming, recently said in a blog post that “98% of Pastoral Care is having someone that cares and that doesn’t always have to be the Pastor.” This highlights the number one reason I believe that church members are not taking an active role in the ministry of the church. They simply believe that it is not their job. It is the pastor’s job to call the sick and visit the hospital. It is the pastor’s job to visit the homebounds and nursing homes. It is the pastor’s job…..no, no, no.

While many of those things fall under the pastor’s role it does not mean he has to take on all that alone. This is especially important in small church that has limited staff and resources. If you know someone is hurting, call them. If you know someone is in the hospital, visit them. If you know that the Smith family just went through a tough time, call and offer to take them a meal or babysit the kids so they can have some quite time. These issues are only matters of dealing with those inside the church but what about outreach, does all of that fall on the pastor as well? Is he solely responsible for inviting that new family back to church next week or reaching out to those who have missed the last month of church? If we really want to reach the next generation then we have to be willing to step up to the plate and do our part. Our role in the church has to be more than keeping a pew warm a few times a week. We cannot expect the pastor to be the only person doing any outreach.

Increasing your volunteer support staff is a major way in which churches can increase their ability to reach out. Unfortunately, I believe the 80/20 rule is alive and well in most churches today. This rule simply states that 20% of your people do 80% of the work. We all know what this looks like in a church. The same lady who runs VBS runs the Christmas Program, and the nursery, and the pot-luck, and so on and so on. She does not do this because she has some sick desire to be in charge of everything (If that is the case then church leadership should step in and divide the wealth). She does this because no one else is stepping up. Everyone has a “not my job” mentality. Everyone wants to have the big fancy nice volunteer jobs but not the get your hands dirty ones. I can drive the golf cart around the parking lot on Sunday but I am not working in the kitchen because I might have to do dishes or take out the trash. Just like the last point, what is true inside the church is true when it comes to outreach. It is hard for a church to do effective outreach when only 20% of its members are involved.

The last reason I want to discuss today that I feel churches are not reaching their potential in doing outreach ministry is that we have become creatures of comfort. We like our church the way it is and we don’t want anything to change and we especially don’t want to have to change anything for some visitors who might not stay anyway. In another article Carey states that “Churches who love the method more than the mission will die.”

It is true of every generation. The delivery method of the gospel that worked yesterday will not be effective tomorrow. If we want to be willing to reach the next generation then we have to be willing to sacrifice some of the “traditional” things we have grown accustomed to. We should never shift or alter the Gospel that we preach but maybe adding a screen or an upbeat song would help in gaining ground with these generations.

It is my hope to see the church continue to grow and regain ground that has been lost. I feel that the way to do this is with change and love and prayer. Lots and lots of prayer.

Dear Lord, I pray that we seek you and your wisdom, I pray that we look to make effective changes that will open our doors and Your Word to more and more people. I pray that we do not seek change for the sake of change. Lord, I pray that our church members become engaged in the ministry in their communities, I pray that we truly become the Church.

REFERENCES:

https://careynieuwhof.com/why-cool-church-doesnt-work-anymore-more-on-the-future-church/

https://careynieuwhof.com/5-reasons-charismatic-churches-are-growing-and-attractional-churches-are-past-peak/