An exercise for a church staff retreat or training day.
If you lead a church with a staff team the following could be a very useful basis for a staff retreat or training day.
One of the problems that can develop when staff are appointed to develop particular areas of ministry like youth or children’s ministry is that they become so focused on their area of responsibility that they loose the bigger picture of the whole church community. This is why regular staff meetings are critical and that all staff share in the process of setting goals and future directions for the whole congregation.
The first key idea in this exercise is that all staff are responsible for building the whole church.
They are responsible for its growth in four ways:
(1) Numerically – by evangelism, welcoming and following up new people, contacts and visitors and the follow up of people who drop out.
(2) Prayerfully
(3) In spiritual maturity
(4) Financially in terms of peoples giving
The second key idea is the link between all areas of ministry. No area should become isolated from the others. Everyone should be aware of what is happening in the other areas and how they affect each other. This is especially true if you have separate sites and multiple congregations.
Exercise and Questions :
First, individually do an evaluation of your area of ministry using the four growth ways listed above. How well are we doing in each area? Where are the strengths and weaknesses?
Questions
- How can I exercise my staff role in my area of ministry so the church is built up more effectively in the four ways listed above?
- How can I build stronger links between my area of ministry responsibility and other areas?
- How can I build a stronger sense among my leaders and people of being one congregation, one community in Christ?
Then get people to share their findings with the whole group.
Peter Corney
