“The Challenge of Consistent Church”
by: Dr. JeaRon D, Chew
Have you ever wondered why church many times can be so inconsistent? Ever thought about why there are moments that you are able to get one area of the church rightfully aligned just for another part of it to spiral out of control? I believe that many Pastors, Ministry Leaders, and Congregants battle with these questions from week to week. And the question that remains is, how do we fix it? What can actually be done to make things better? There is definitely no way possible for me to address every issue and submit every solution within this article, but I do want to attempt to cover some of the basics in order for us to have an idea of understanding such a great concern for churches all over the country!
First I would like to address the congregants;
Often times many people who attend churches will share things like “I’m not getting anything out of the service” or “I’m not being fed” along with a list of other complaints. However, I would like to challenge every congregant to do a self-evaluation and discover what they are offering for the betterment of their church. I would even go further to say, ask yourself what are you doing to hurt your church or cause it to be stagnant. Many times congregants can have such a high expectation for everybody else while offering the bare minimums when it comes to serving and contribution. As you have heard times before, you have to bring something in order to receive something! Congregant, I challenge you to enter into the worship facility that you are connected to with a spirit of expectation. Be sure that you are praying for your pastor, your church leaders, and for the presence of the Holy Spirit to saturate the sanctuary. Instead of criticizing, find ways that maximize the potential of the ministry. The work of the kingdom has never been a one man show! This work is a work that takes all hands being on deck, and every person doing what they are able or gifted to do. Truth is, you may not be able to do what other’s do and they may not be able to do what you do…but if everybody does what they can, make sacrifices, buy into the vision, and show consistent support; you will then see some of the results that you have been looking for as it relates to church consistency. Don’t be that person that complains about everything and never do anything. Find yourself working while it is day because when night falls, no man can work John 9:4.
Secondly let me address the ministry leaders;
Every ministry leader needs to know that serving is a privilege. A ministry leader should always be a servant leader. Not using your leadership authority to abuse congregants but rather using it to serve by way of example. One of the underlined problems of ministry as it relates to consistency is that many times there is a lack thereof simply because there are too many ministry leaders trying to build their own kingdoms opposed to building the kingdom of God through executing the vision that has been given to the visionary. No church needs anything extra to be working against the ministries productivity. Stay in your lane! Do what has been asked of you to do…nothing more or nothing less. Ministry leaders if you do what has been assigned to you, that is one of the greatest helps any pastor can receive. I promise you that they will appreciate you the more when you are giving a hand in producing results that get the church closer to the vision that has been set. Don’t ever think that just because you have been selected to serve that you are irreplaceable. God always has somebody that is willing to do what needs to be done, and He always has something that needs to be done! Are you willing to answer the call to servitude? Then said He unto his disciples, the harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few Matthew 9:37.
Third and finally let me address the pastor;
Lastly, pastors we must always put forth our very best for God and those who are counting on us to give vision that produce kingdom excellence. So many times we are so burdened with so many objectives, goals, deadlines, and engagements until we don’t find the proper balance to give consistency to our churches, our family (which is our first ministry), and our devotion. The terminology that is used in most cases is that we are “spreading ourselves thin”. In order for us to provide the type of consistency that everyone is looking for from us…we have to be sure to take a TIME OUT! Why do we need a time out? I’m glad you asked! We need a time out for (1) Rest! It is hard trying to serve God and the ministry with a tired body. You can either get you some rest or be forced to take your rest! Rest is important to your health therefore it’s not optional, it’s a must. (2) Reinforcement! You need to take some time to reinforce the things that have been working for the ministry. There are some things that have already been implemented and in place that need to be made better so that people can continue to remain interested. (3) Re-strategize! There are definitely some strategies that you had that did not go over so well. Take some time out to go back to the drawing board and create new plans and ideas for the ministry. Prayer plays a big part in this process because one of the worse things you can do is to be trying to execute something that God has not authorized and approved. (4) Replace! After we have made the proper assessments, we need to make sure that we take time to remove non-effective plans and non-effective people. We can’t keep plans and people in positions that are killing the vision! It may be hard but it is certainly necessary.
I hope that article was helpful in some way are another!
Dr. JeaRon D, Chew
Pastor of Mount Olive MBC, Jasper, TX