The purpose of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. But how do we do that? The most visible way God knits people into the community of Christ and draws people into the relationship with God is through congregations that fulfill the ministry of Christ in the world. Fruitful congregations repeat and improve on these five basic practices: Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, Intentional Faith Development, Risk-Taking Mission and Service and Extravagant Generosity.
The practices are basic and fundamental. But it’s the adjectives that make these words come alive, because they stretch us and cause us to ask ourselves, “How are we doing in practicing these qualities of ministry in our congregation? How might we do better?”
These are practices—they're not qualities that some churches have and some don’t. They’re not phases that, once we get them done, we can move on to something else. These are practices that we have to learn and improve upon constantly. These are the activities that are so critical to the mission of the church that failure to perform them in an exemplary way leads to congregational decline and deterioration.
Here’s a look at the five practices used in fruitful congregations.
Radical Hospitality
(Romans 12:9-21)
Congregations offer the invitation and embrace of Jesus Christ, the
gracious welcome that creates genuine belonging that brings people
together in the Christian community. Churches characterized by Radical
Hospitality are not just friendly and courteous. Instead, they exhibit
restlessness because they realize so many people do not have a
relationship to a faith community. They sense a calling and
responsibility to pray and work to invite others and to help them feel
welcome and supported in their faith journeys. Congregations surprise
newcomers with a glimpse of the unmerited gracious love of God that they
see in Christ. Our Radical Hospitality goes to the extremes, and we do
it joyfully, not superficially, because we know our invitation is the
invitation of Christ.
Passionate Worship
(John 4:21-24)
In Passionate Worship, people are honest before God and one another,
and they are open to God’s presence and will for their lives. People so
eagerly desire such worship that they will reorder their lives to
attend. Passionate worship motivates pastors not only to improve their
preaching but also to learn continually how to enhance content and
technique for effective worship. Worship is something alive that
requires continuing care, cultivation, and effort to keep it fresh.
Pastors should willingly review and evaluate their own work and invite
feedback. The motivation for enhancing the quality of worship is not
only about deepening our own faith but also about allowing God to use us
and our congregations to offer hope, life, and love to others. Worship
is God’s gift and task, a sacred trust that requires our utmost and
highest.
Intentional Faith Development
(1 Corinthians 9:19-24)
Transformation comes through learning in community. Congregational
leaders that practice Intentional Faith Development carefully consider
the full life cycle of members and look for ways the church forms faith
at every age. They look for gaps, opportunities, and unmet needs to
round out their ministries and ask how they can do better. They train
laypeople to lead small groups, teach Bible studies, and coordinate
support groups. They realize the power of special topics and interests
to attract unchurched people, and they advertise and invite beyond the
walls of the church. They form affiliation groups such as grief or
divorce recovery, substance abuse, parenting, and more. They explore new
ways of forming learning communities–blogs, chat rooms, e-mail Bible
studies, and downloadable materials. These pastors also participate in
forms of community with other pastors or laypersons to help deepen their
own relationship with God.
Risk-Taking Mission and Service
(Matthew 25:14-30)
This involves work that stretches people, causing them to do
something for the good of others that they would never have considered
doing if it were not for their relationship with Christ and their desire
to serve Him. These churches not only solicit and encourage ordinary
service to support the work of the congregation, but they also
consciously seek to motivate people to more extraordinary service. They
lift examples in preaching and teaching. Risk-Taking Missions and
Service is also part of the formation of children and youth. All youth
and children ministries include teaching and experiential components
that stretch compassion outward beyond the walls of the church. Faith
mapped in childhood provides pathways that shape lifelong commitments.
These churches collaborate with other churches, other denominations,
civic organizations, social agencies, and non-profit groups. They
actively invite and welcome newcomers, visitors, and the unchurched to
help them in making a difference in the lives of others. As
congregations move beyond their comfort zones and follow Christ into
more adventurous encounters with people, God’s Spirit changes them,
changes others, and changes churches.CONTINUE READING FULL ARTICLE