Missional Success
J.R. Woodward defined ministry success this way:
Success is…
Not simply how many people come to our church services, but how many people our church serves.
Not simply how many people attend our ministry, but how many people have we equipped for ministry.
Not simply how many people minister inside the church, but how many minister outside the church.
Not simply helping people become more whole themselves, but helping people bring more wholeness to their world. (ie. justice, healing, relief)
Not simply how many ministries we start, but how many ministries we help.
Not simply how many unbelievers we bring into the community of faith, but how many ‘believers’ we help experience healthy community.
Not simply working through our past hurts, but working alongside the Spirit toward wholeness.
Not simply counting the resources that God gives us to steward, but counting how many good stewards are we developing for the sake of the world.
Not simply how we are connecting with our culture but how we are engaging our culture.
Not simply how much peace we bring to individuals, but how much peace we bring to our world.
Not simply how effective we are with our mission, but how faithful we are to our God.
Not simply how unified our local church is, but how unified is “the church” in our neighborhood, city and world?
Not simply how much we immerse ourselves in the text, but how faithfully we live in the story of God.
Not simply being concerned about how our country is doing, but being concerned for the welfare of other countries.
Not simply how many people we bring into the kingdom, but how much of the kingdom we bring to the earth.
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He makes a lot of sense -- and what he says resonates deeply with my soul. If I were to make the list, however, I'd put more emphasis on evangelism -- helping broken, lost and hurting people experience the powerful grace of Jesus. That's missional!
Success is…
Not simply how many people come to our church services, but how many people our church serves.
Not simply how many people attend our ministry, but how many people have we equipped for ministry.
Not simply how many people minister inside the church, but how many minister outside the church.
Not simply helping people become more whole themselves, but helping people bring more wholeness to their world. (ie. justice, healing, relief)
Not simply how many ministries we start, but how many ministries we help.
Not simply how many unbelievers we bring into the community of faith, but how many ‘believers’ we help experience healthy community.
Not simply working through our past hurts, but working alongside the Spirit toward wholeness.
Not simply counting the resources that God gives us to steward, but counting how many good stewards are we developing for the sake of the world.
Not simply how we are connecting with our culture but how we are engaging our culture.
Not simply how much peace we bring to individuals, but how much peace we bring to our world.
Not simply how effective we are with our mission, but how faithful we are to our God.
Not simply how unified our local church is, but how unified is “the church” in our neighborhood, city and world?
Not simply how much we immerse ourselves in the text, but how faithfully we live in the story of God.
Not simply being concerned about how our country is doing, but being concerned for the welfare of other countries.
Not simply how many people we bring into the kingdom, but how much of the kingdom we bring to the earth.
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He makes a lot of sense -- and what he says resonates deeply with my soul. If I were to make the list, however, I'd put more emphasis on evangelism -- helping broken, lost and hurting people experience the powerful grace of Jesus. That's missional!
stands and cheers!
ReplyDeleteYou both make excellent points. This is something that I've had a personal struggle with. The majority of our congregation are stuck in a fellowship mode. They love and enjoy each other, but they are not reaching outside the walls of the church and doing the work as written in the post. Many of them go to the lake, beach or mountains on the weekends. Church seems to be a secondary thought for these people. How do you get through to these people and help them to understand that they should be missional and working to reach the lost instead of self serving in their attitudes and actions?
ReplyDeleteBruce,
ReplyDeleteIt's an attitude adjustment maybe -- or perhaps, a heart filling that is needed.