Cross Fellowship Church ministers to recent Korean immigrants (and others) in Coquitlam BC. It was a joy to welcome this church into our LPD/EFCC Family at our 2019 LPD Conference, and to visit them to recognize this on July 21.
Please pray for the pastoral team of Pastors Hong Gun (Joshua) Lee, David Hong, Peter Yang and Hokun Kang, and for the congregation, as they minister to first and second generation Koreans in our region.
***
Is your church “good busy,” or just busy?
Perhaps it is a quirk of we who are in vocational ministry, but I’ve never met a pastor or Christian worker who said that he or she was not “busy” in ministry. No one has ever told me that they are bored in ministry, with not enough to do.
This can be a good thing, but can also be not so good. A co-worker of mine, when I served with Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, once reflected, “When I get depressed, I just get busy, and then I don’t have time to think about things.”
While I do not suggest this approach, there is truth in what he says.
If I was to ask you,“Is your church busy?,” I suspect that all of us would say, “yes.” This would likely be followed by a list of all the ministries our church is engaged in each week, but are these important and are they effective?
We are familiar with the story of Mary and Martha, as recorded by Luke in his Gospel (Luke 10:38-42).
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
While we can make an argument for balance here (without Martha, they would need to order in fast food), the point is that we can be busy in serving the Lord, but not be in fellowship with Him. James Houston of Regent College has coined this as, “alienated activism.” We can also be busy in ministries that are not effective, or as they say, have passed their “best before date.”
I am sending you a couple of articles for you and your church which speak to this.
The first is by Thom Rainer, and states, “7 Reasons Your Church Is Overcommitted.”
This is a good article to share with your leadership team.
The first trait is that an over-committed church “equates activity with value.” Rainer writes that, “…busy churches are deemed to be churches of value. And busy, exhausted, and frustrated church members are deemed to be Christians of value.”
He goes on to state, ” I recently asked a pastor why he continued a ministry that had dwindled from 220 participants to 23 participants. “Because,” he said, “this program is a part of the history and heritage that defines our church.” Warning: If a program defines your church, your church is in trouble.” Does this sound at all familiar? One sign is when now hire people to continue the ministry that volunteers once did. While this may be necessary for a ministry that is growing, it is not so for a ministry that is in decline.
7-reasons-your-church-is-overcommitted/?
The second article is by author and pastor Pete Scazzero (author of The Emotionally Healthy Leader and The Emotionally Healthy Church), and is titled, “6 Marks of a Church Culture That Deeply Changes Lives.”
He states, “One of the greatest insights I’ve gained from working with thousands of churches around the world is that creating a healthy culture is a powerful strategy for impacting people’s lives as well as the long-term mission of the church.
If our goal is to multiply deeply transformed disciples and leaders for the sake of the world, a healthy culture is profoundly important.”
He concludes, “If what you’ve read here has awakened in you a hunger to create a healthier church culture, I encourage you to boldly take your next steps. Since culture flows from leadership, the best place to start is with your core leadership team.
Wherever your next steps take you, my prayer is that God will give you the courage to faithfully live your unique life in Christ, and that you will discover a whole new way of living as a result.
May His love invade you as you continue your journey.
6-marks-of-a-church-culture-that-deeply-changes-lives/?
Please take time to read and reflect on these articles – and I invite you to share them with your church leadership team. I trust that these will be both an encouragement to you, and also provide a measure of your church’s ministry and culture. Our society is looking for faith that works and transformed lives much more than it is looking for programs.
Please pray for:
Upcoming Events:
Jesus Evangelistic Mission (JEM)
From December 1 – 15, 2019, Johnston Heights Church will be running a short-term mission’s event to the Philippines.
The goal is to partner with local churches to participate in the same missional approach that Jesus used and that He sent His disciples out on in Luke 9,10 and Matthew 10. It’s about experiencing the presence, power and authority of the Holy Spirit through preaching the gospel, healing the sick and bringing new believers into disciple making communities.
You are welcome to join Pastor Phil Harris and team for this mission to the Philippines. Please contact Pastor Phil at (604) 308 2160 or email him at philwharris1@gmail.com
Here is the link for information:
JEM_Mission.pdf
***
LPD Conference
March 6,7 – 2020
at
Grace Hanin Community Church
“The Heart of Discipleship”
with Dr. Randy Wollf of ACTS Seminaries.
