“serve, love, pray” are the summary words for what i feel to be the ministry strategy God has given for our church. Much has been written regarding purpose and vision, and those things have caught on well in churches and individual lives. Many of our churches in America have well thought and prepared purpose (mission) statements hung by their doors or on their newsletters, along with catchy vision statements that almost help give a particular church their identifying brand in our communities. You may know your purpose statement and vision statement – but either through friends, signs, or mailings, you know the vision statements of other churches as well.
i think that all of this emphasis is a good – most statement have helped leadership in churches wrestle with the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) and have, if only in principle, re-focused churches off of a member-serving motives onto evangelistic motives. Purpose statements help us define the reality we’d like to create – Vision statements help us keep the purpose in our minds. But what gets it done?
For example, “Touching the World for Christ,” was a vision statement the church i pastor adopted years ago. There doesn’t seem to be an accompanying purpose/mission statement so we’ve simply said that our purpose is “to Glorify God.” God is glorified through changed lives – that happens when we touch the world for Christ. But how do we do that? What constitutes a touch from Christ?
That’s where your strategy comes in – without a strategy (and accompanying goals) visions and purpose statements are good intentions. I use the simile of a church as a crew of a boat (any of the vehicles through which the crew seeks to rescue the lost and perishing such as worship services, door-to-door evangelism, etc.). Thus the boat is a rescue boat, not a cruise ship. The purpose/mission of the crew is to arrive at our destination with as many souls as possible. The boat is powered and directed through the wind (spirit’s leading) to navigate the current (society—not an original comparison, but one that works). The vision is the sail that we lift up to catch the Spirit’s leading (that’s why vision statements should be flexible). But without a strong mast (ministry strategy) to hold up the sail, most crews find them selves floundering under large sails imploring the wind to propel them.
i’m no sailor (i don’t even really like the water that much) in fact, it would be interesting to know what a real sailor thinks of that simile. But doesn’t that seem to describe the state of most churches? We’ve got big dreams and big visions (and well we should because we serve a even bigger God “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,” according to Ephesians 3:20). But it seems like the results or even the activity fails to measure up to our good intentions.
Masts are fairly simple – they kind of look like a cross when you think of it. As a result, I think that your ministry strategies should also be simple, and should resemble the life that Jesus lived and gave up for us. A good strategy will distribute His power throughout the whole “boat”.
The strategy we adopted is found in the scripture that i felt impressed upon me from the time that i first received the call from the church i pastor, found in Micah 6:8. “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” We’ve summarized the end of that verse with the words, “serve, love, pray.” They’re simple statements – they reflect the life of Christ – and everyone can apply them to their daily lives.
i believe that if the church will live out the strategy, the visions will become a reality, and fulfill the purposes God has laid on our hearts. In our case, if we will serve, love, and pray (our strategy)--we will indeed “touch the world for Christ” (our vision) and “God will be glorified” through every changed life (our purpose).
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