Already Missional by Morrison Bradley T.;Dalgleish Rob;

Author:Morrison, Bradley T.;Dalgleish, Rob; [Morrison, Bradley T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781498279130
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Published: 2016-02-29T08:00:00+00:00

None of these ministries is organized or intentional.

Some of these ministries are ad hoc or missing.

All five of these ministries are overseen by committees or a central leadership group.

Goal Setting. What plans or possibilities exist to establish workgroups or committees related to these core ministries?

Comprehensiveness. This readiness question does not prescribe a particular style or method for doing each core ministry. Rather, the focus is simply on whether each core ministry exists. Do all five core ministries operate in your congregation? There is no singular, best way to do ministry. So much depends on your history and community context. The quality of ministry matters, and your commitment to action will likely need to access resources for growing one or more ministries.

Intentionality. Most congregations have a committee structure, but there are alternatives. Some congregations coordinate all ministry activity through a central decision making body. Some congregations have elders overseeing specific ministries. This readiness factor is about intentionality rather than governance method. The assumption here is that ongoing attention to a ministry happens when leaders are consistently and persistently tending to it (like a standing committee, always responsible and accountable). If a ministry only receives attention or resources intermittently or as difficulties arise (like an ad hoc committee), then continuous innovation may be limited. No attention (like no committee) means a ministry probably does not exist or is not resourced by the congregation.

Commitment to Action

This readiness question has a related goal setting question: What plans or possibilities exist to establish workgroups or committees related to these core ministries? Your individual and group reflections on this core ministry readiness question will reveal opportunities for action.

Perhaps your congregation engages all five core ministries consistently and persistently. How do you measure effectiveness from the lens of your mission strategy?

Perhaps your congregation has a central committee that is responsible for all five core ministries. Is attention given to each ministry? Is agenda time designated for each core ministry? Are some core ministries dominating energy and resources at the expense of others?

Perhaps your congregation had a past conflict with leadership in one of these ministry areas. Has the ministry suffered? How can relationships be healed and ministry re-engaged?

Perhaps your congregation expects paid staff to undertake one or more of these ministries on behalf of all members. How might space be opened up for broader participation?

Perhaps your congregation ignores one of the core ministries. Is that accidental or by choice? Are there people in your congregation who are quietly engaged in this ministry who would benefit from access to resources and mutual support?

Influencer Questions

When parishioners are influenced by an externally-focused mission strategy, they look to the congregation’s core ministries to animate that external focus. All five of the church’s core ministries lend themselves to a mission strategy aimed at being God’s good news in the community and larger world. Congregational leaders play in important part in establishing and supporting these core ministries. These influencer questions focus leaders on developing skills and motivation needed for building the core ministries that animate missional imagination.

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