Strategy for Ministry
- Peter Drucker, expert in the science of management, has had a question on his mind since he was 13
- he had an inspiring teacher, who once went through the class asking everyone, "What do you want to be remembered for?"
- none of the students could give an answer
- so the teacher chuckled and said, "I didn't expect you to be able to respond. But if you still can't by the time you're 50, you will have wasted your life"
- let me ask you that question again
- what do you want to be remembered for?
- I don't know what your answer is, but let me tell you what it might involve
- it might involve leaving something of eternal value
- it will mean leaving something behind that will outlast your life
- something that makes a difference in the lives of people
- I challenge you to ask yourself this question: what do you want to be remembered for?
- this morning, I want to ask that question in a larger context
- what does Park Lawn Baptist Church want to be remembered for?
- what contribution do we want to make?
- what impact do we want to have?
- what do we believe God is calling us to?
- this question is important because I believe that the church is the hope of society
- as the church goes, society goes
- some people believe that education is the hope of society, or that business is the hope of society, or that government is the hope of society
- all these things are important, but they just rearrange stuff on the surface of life
- they can spend money and have impacts on people and draw attention to a cause
- but they can't bring fundamental transformation into the life of one individual
- they can't rewrite the eternal address of a single person
- they can't order genuine reconciliation between two estranged human beings
- they can't instill character into anyone
- they can't turn a selfish heart into a servant heart, or a granite heart into a giving heart
- only the church has the answer to the greatest problem that mankind faces
- and that problem is sin
- but it's important also because of the church's calling
- in Matthew 16, Jesus said:
- (Matthew 16:18) And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
- I always thought that this verse talked about the gates of Hades attacking the church, and the church not being conquered
- but recently I learned that the picture Jesus paints is of the church attacking the gates of Hell, and Jesus is saying that as the church attacks hell's powers, the church will prevail
- because the gates of Hades will not overcome the church as the church takes the offensive
- we have a calling
- an incredible calling
- a man had a dream
- in that dream, the ascended Lord arrived back in heaven
- and all the angel hosts gathered around to welcome him
- the Master had come home
- then he describes one angel who came over to the triumphant Lord and said, "Master, you did such a great work when you were down there on earth
- "And it climaxed in that awful, mysterious cross which you made redemption and salvation for a ruined race, available to all
- "Master, that was a tremendous thing
- "Now, who is going to carry on that work?"
- and the Lord Jesus replies, "The handful of men that I have left down there"
- there's a long pause
- the archangel pressed it: "But supposing they fail? Have you an alternative program?"
- and our wonderful Lord answered with one word, "No!"
- no alternative program
- the implication, of course, of that one word is tremendous
- God has no other method but us
- as we look at the cross and gaze upon those wounds, let us engage all our powers in the task he has left us
- he has no eyes but our eyes to see through, our lips to speak through, our hands to work through, our hearts to love through
- our personalities to radiate out through
- he is depending on us
- and if we fail him, he has no alternative
- but what our church wants to be remembered for is important for one other reason
- because I believe that God has a purpose for us at Park Lawn
- I believe that God has called us here for a reason
- and I believe that God can do great things in our midst
- what I want to do this morning is to talk about what God wants our church to be
- everything I say this morning has a scriptural basis
- we believe that God has called us here at Park Lawn for a reason, and that reason is to glorify Him
- and we're going to do this by BONDING together as God's family, GROWING together in obedience to God's commandments in our everyday life, SERVING God using our unique gifts, and WINNING others to Christ
- now listen: our motivation in doing all this is the glory of God
- we want God to be glorified in everything we do at this church
- we also believe that worship and prayer should undergird everything we do
- we realize that we can make all the plans we want in the world, but they're not going to make a difference without worship and without prayer
- but we want to do things in an excellent way
- because doing things with excellence honors an excellent God
- so this morning I'm going to introduce you to our strategy for ministry
- how we're going to accomplish the mission God has given us
- what we want to be remembered for
- at the end of today, as you leave, you will be given a copy of our strategy
- we want you to read it, and in the months that lie ahead, we are going to be asking for your prayerful feedback
- but this morning, I'd like to introduce our strategy by way of a sermon
- and that's to talk about the goals that God has for us
- God has four goals for every believer
- these goals express what God wants each of us to do with our lives while here on earth
- and by the way, these four goals represent the four teams we want to start in our church
- four teams whose responsibility it will be to carry out these goals
- the first goal is this:
- GOD WANTS ME TO BE A MEMBER OF HIS FAMILY
- the Bible is clear that following Christ is not just a matter of believing - it also includes belonging
- the Christian life is not a solo act
- God has given us the church as a spiritual family for our own benefit
- this is what we have in mind when we say BOND
- our mission is to BOND together as God's family
- the Bible tells us that loving, authentic relationships should permeate every aspect of church life
- (John 13:35) By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
- and the Bible also tells us that a spirit of unity is to be jealously guarded in the body of Christ
- (Ephesians 4:3) Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
- one of the main reasons people attend church is for fellowship
- studies show that the more friendships one has in a congregation, the less likely he or she is to leave
- four hundred drop-outs were asked why they left the church
- 75% said, "I didn't feel anyone cared whether I was there or not"
- we would like every member of this church involved in one of four teams
- and one of these teams will be the BONDING or MEMBERSHIP team
- and their task is to help people to bond in our church
- to create opportunities for people to get to know each other
- the membership team will help create new members
- and they will also make members feel special by creating opportunities for them to build relationships through events, retreats, and small groups
- they will keep the communication lines open through regular contact with each member and care during periods of crisis
- God's first goal is that we should be part of a family
- and at Park Lawn, the BONDING team will help to make this happen
- there is a second goal for us as believers
- GOD WANTS ME TO BE A MODEL OF HIS CHARACTER
- this is the goal of discipleship
- our mission is that we GROW together in obedience to Christ's commandments in our everyday life
- God wants every believer to grow up to become like Christ in character
- becoming like Christ is the biblical definition of "spiritual maturity"
- Jesus has established a pattern for us to follow
- (1 Peter 2:21) To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
- in 1 Timothy 4:12, Paul gives us several specific areas in which we are to model the character of Christ:
- (1 Timothy 4:12) Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
- our speech, our life, our love, our faith, and our purity must all reflect Jesus Christ
- note that maturity is not measured by one's learning, but by one's lifestyle
- it is possible to be well versed in the Bible and still be immature
- God's desire is for every believer to mature spiritually
- we believe that as one sits under godly preaching and teaching, that their lives can literally be transformed into fully committed believers
- and so we propose a GROWING or MATURITY TEAM
- and this team will be responsible to foster spiritual growth among members of the congregation
- by leading a class on spiritual growth habits
- and by coordinating the Christian education in this church, which will foster both knowledge and obedience
- there's another goal that God has for us
- GOD WANTS ME TO BE A MINISTER OF HIS GRACE
- a third responsibility of every Christian is the personalized purpose of service or ministry
- God expects us to use the gifts, talents, and opportunities he gives us to benefit others
- (1 Peter 4:10) Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.
- God intends every believer to have a ministry
- when you give your life to Christ, you are signing up to minister in his name for the rest of your life
- it's what God made you for
- (Ephesians 2:10) For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
- our mission is that we SERVE God using our unique gifts
- the church should operate as a unified community of servants stewarding their spiritual gifts
- and so we want a SERVING or MINISTRY team
- this team will move members into ministry by helping them discover their spiritual gifts
- and they will give on-the-job training
- their goal will be to get every member involved in ministry
- the fourth goal that God has for us is this:
- GOD WANTS ME TO BE A MESSENGER OF HIS LOVE
- part of the job description of every believer and every church is that once we have been born again, we become messengers of the Good News to others
- Paul says:
- (Acts 20:24 NCV) I don't care about my own life. The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me--to tell people the Good News about God's grace.
- our mission is to WIN others for Christ
- Paul even says that we are Christ's ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:19-20)
- we are to plead with unbelievers to receive the love he offers - to be reconciled to God
- have you ever wondered why God leaves us here on earth, with all its pain, sorrow, and sin, after we accept Christ?
- why doesn't he just zap us immediately to heaven and spare us all this?
- after all, we can worship, fellowship, pray, sing, hear God's Word, and even have fun in heaven
- in fact, there are only two things you can't do in heaven that you can do on earth: sin, and witness to unbelievers
- now which of these two do you think Christ has left us here to do?
- we each have a mission on earth, and part of it includes telling others about Christ
- lost people matter to God, and therefore they ought to matter to the church
- so we propose a MISSIONS or WINNING team
- a team that will be responsible to promote evangelism as a lifestyle and a focus of the church
- they will train us in evangelism, they will help coordinate events for us to bring our friends, and they will coordinate the church's outreach and advertising
- [CONCLUSION]
- let me try to summarize
- God has given us an important mission
- we are confident that with his power, we can carry this mission out
- we believe that our mission can be summarized in four words, or four goals: BOND, GROW, SERVE, and WIN
- in order to carry these four goals out, we need the every person to sign up under one of these four areas
- so we'll have the entire church in four teams:
- a BONDING team, a GROWING team, a SERVING team, and a WINNING team
- and each team will be asking, what can we do at this time to have the greatest impact to accomplish our goal?
- there's a paper for you as you leave
- at the annual meeting on February 2nd, we'll discuss the first three pages
- and in the months ahead, we'll solicit your input on the rest
- could you stand with me and pray?