Thanks to Anna (Ben) Crumback at Sointula Community Church for producing the Church of the Week!
The problem with many churches with many churches is that their people are overcommitted. Since when has overcommitment become a problem in a church, you might ask? Programs suffer for a lack of volunteers.
The question perhaps best asked is, “Are our people committed to the right things?”
One church I met with was critically short of people to fill positions. There was a need for elders, deacons, deaconnesses, trustees, members of the library committee, the worship committee, the evangelism committee, the property committee, and more. There were many more positions to be filled that there were members in the congregation, and people needed to serve on several committees just to fill the positions.
As we met, I observed that there was no time for people to minister to one another, let alone their neighbours. Everyone was busy going to committee meetings. We pruned the structure to free people up to do what was more important – to serve people rather than the structure.
We cannot be overcommitted to Christ, but we can sure become overly busy with programs done in his Name. As a child, I recall the culture of my home church which messaged that while anyone could attend on Sunday morning, it was the really committed who also came out to the Sunday evening service. On top of this the real saints attended the Wednesday evening prayer meetings. Faithfulness and commitment was measured by attendance.
While all of the “programs” were important, these were not accurate measures of spiritual health and vitality, ministry effectiveness or mission, and did not necessarily further any of these ends.
At our recent Steveston Project Advisory Committee meeting, we discussed the purpose of adding a Sunday morning service to the church plant ministry. To be sure, this can be an awkward conversation. After all, don’t all “real” churches meet on Sunday AM? Don’t we refer to church plants as having “launched” when they begin a Sunday AM service?
Our discussion was a good one. We agree that Steveston is a “Research and Development” project. We are thankful for the small groups (pods) that are both meeting and multiplying. People are coming to faith, being baptized and experiencing transformation in Christ. As the work grows, there is a greater need to consider meeting on Sunday, not simply to “do church,” but to worship together, to celebrate, to share the vision and to equip. The service is not the mission. A service is intended to further the mission.
I am thankful for the Steveston Project, and for the leadership of church planters Allen and Hannah Chang and Daniel and Joyce Wong. I refer to the relationships of church plants and churches as being a “symbiotic one,” where we assist one another and learn from one another. Please pray for the Steveston Team, and let’s pray that their commitment is always to the “right things.”
Thom Rainer offers a helpful article regarding the “overcommitment” of churches in his article, “Seven Reasons Your Church is Overcommitted.” 7-reasons-your-church-is-overcommitted/?ecid=P
How is your church doing? Are you over-committed? Are you committed to the right things?
While you are thinking about overcommitment, here is another article about church busyness, “Seven Reasons Churches are Too Busy:”
7-reasons-churches-are-too-busy/
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Pastor Tom and Sandy Ford.
Tom is a native of Texas has served with the U.S. Army as a chaplain and was deployed overseas to Iraq. By God’s leading, he came to Canada and served for several years as English Ministry pastor at Burnaby Chinese EFC. He and Sandy now serve at Hosanna Evangelical Free Church in Mississauga, Ontario. For several years, he has dealt with diabetes. He is now in need of a double organ transplant and will be going on long-term disability as he awaits these procedures.
Please pray for:
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Upcoming Events:
LPD Annual Conference: March 1,2 at Vancouver Chinese EFC.
