Where is the Real Ministry Action?

I am often asked the question, "In what areas of ministry can I serve at Sovereign Grace?" I immediately stop and think of our various programs and wonder where I can plug people in. Of course, my tendency to do this is exactly the opposite of what my impulse should be. My answer betrays that I am often more interested in furthering our church's programs than I am with the furthering of our people! My answer should be, "Why don't you get involved in a mutually edifying relationship with...? They are unengaged and could use other Christians in their life helping them grow. Invite them to lunch or dinner. Spend time together. Challenge each other with the Word and pray for one another. Further, who are your neighbors, coworkers, and friends who don't know Jesus? Pray for them. Invite them over for a BBQ. Take time to share the gospel with them."

Sovereign Grace is a church that endeavors to pursue biblical ministry, and in this vein, our direction should be more focused on who God has given us and training them to be used in their sphere of influence, passion, and gifting, rather than surveying our programs and trying to squeeze people into them. If programs need to cease, so be it. However, what we can't allow is for people to be thrown into the maintenance of programs for the purpose of keeping the program afloat. This is not biblical ministry. We must focus on training people to minister to others and release them to do it. This means that the vast majority of our ministry is not under the control of our staff and we may even be unaware of most of it.

It is my hope that Sovereign Grace will be a church that has leaders focused on training and releasing people for ministry, and members who begin to see the more informal and non-programmatic ministry opportunities of caring for one another and reaching out to the lost as where the real ministry action is.