Probably the oldest and most perennial debate in ministry circles revolves around programmes versus relationship. In two contexts during the past week I have been with a group of youth pastors who ended up discussing this issue at length. The debate involves questions like: Are programmes still relevant for youth ministry in the third millennium? Should we should stop all our programmes and build relationships with people? Are our programmes actually hindering more than helping efforts at making disciples of all nations?
In the two contexts that I have been a part of in the past week, I have made a mental note of some of the key insights that were raised or discovered:
1. Programmes Can Take the Place of Passion for God
The New Testament believers rather naturally witnessed to the lost or gathered to worship with other believers. Their hearts were so full of the reality of the presence of Christ that they did not need too much exhorting to engage in outwards expressions of the faith. Could it be that many of us have lost our passion for God and are simply going through the motions - doing instead of being church. If we could recover our first love, fall in love with God all over again, we just might find that we recover something of the enthusiasm and joy we had when we first followed Christ. We need to stop hiding behind programmes and make it our aim to encounter God and minister out of the overflow of that relationship.
2. Programmes are Mistakenly Used to Create Lifestyle
The church in recent years, having realised that people are not living as true believers, has designed programmes for every aspect of ministry and Christian living. There are no shortage of courses, seminars and training programmes to attend. But, if we are honest, maybe we could conclude that they are not as effective as they could be. The latest training programme to get believers to evangelise their lost friends does not seem to be creating believers who live a lifestyle of evangelism. Could it be that we have things all back to front? If we could help people to engage with God, gain a heart for the things that He is passionate about, they would start to live a new lifestyle that s truly Christian. Then when they join a programme they will be ministering out of a full-heart and won't be seminar or programme junkies - ever attending, but never changing.
3. Programmes Could Actually Hinder Personal Ministry
As we have set up programmes for each area of ministry, maybe we have inadvertently taken ministry out of the hands of the majority of Christians. Could it be that our evangelistic programmes are causing people to sit back with clear consciences - reasoning something like: "Well, I'll just leave the evangelising up to the evangelism team"? Now, I am sure that many would agree that not everyone is equally gifted in the body of Christ. We are not all called to do the same work in the fulfilment of the Great Commission, but there is a danger that the very programmes which were designed to mobilise the saints could be causing them to watch passively from the sidelines. Further, those of us involved in running the programmes can become so burnt out as we seek to start and perpetuate the programmes that we loose our passion for God and end up unable to help people connect with God.
4. Programmes Should Assist the Process of Ministry
So often programmes are viewed as the shortcut to ministry success. If we could just get Alpha up and running in our church we would not need to worry about the area of evangelism anymore. Unfortunately, this type of thinking makes us forget that moving churched people through salvation and on into spiritual maturity is a long-term process. Events and programmes should be used to assist the process and not replace nor shortcut it. When people realise that as they live out the fulfilment of the Great Commission, the church will periodically provide training or events that will assist them in their task of personal disciplemaking. When the responsibility for fulfilling the great commission is shared and owned among members of the body of Christ, and not allowed to land in the lap of the professionals, then programmes could be viewed as part of the process.
5. Programmes Should Have a Short Shelf Life
Each programme needs a specific goal, and it should de designed to equip people for ministry and not do ministry for them. Part of our goal planning should include setting a duration period for th eprogramme. We need some indication of how long we see the programme running for. As a church, we do not have a good track record with ending programmes. They tend to be in existence long after their effectiveness has come to an end. Maybe all our programmes need an expiry date, like a sachet of milk, to warn us that they can't be used indefinitely. It will take courage to end programmes, but better to do so before they have reached expiry date, than when no one is attending nor benefiting from attending.
6. Programmes Should Create Experiences in Which People Connect with God
Someone has written about the importance of creating memories more than meetings. As Christians we tend to be frightened of the word "experience". Yet, unless we develop events in which people experience the reality of the presence of God and genuine community, our programmes will never have the kind of impact on people that we need them to have. The early church so encountered God in their times of corporate worship, that when unbelievers attended they would fall down and realise that they were in God's presence. As a worship leader I often find myself wrestling with the question like, "How can I create an environment in which people will encounter God and not just sing and speak about Him?" While it may be difficult to "get God to show up to bless my programme each time", surely it is His intention to make Himself known in the congregation? Until unbelievers genuinely encounter God in our church services they will go away empty and unmoved by the event.
The Way Ahead?
So, should we place a moratorium on programmes and spend out time in relationships with unbelievers and believers? Somehow I don't think that such simplistic or dualistic thinking is the answer, but we do need to critically evaluate our programmes. We need to be challenged to develop a level of intimacy with God that will be the driving-force behind our ministry. If we can share Christ with the lost because we are passionate to lead others into an intimate relationship with Father God - then we won't need to be told to make contact and evangelise our spiritually lost friends. If we practise spiritual disciplines that help us to experience God we will naturally want to share them with other believers. Everything we do must aim at helping people live and act Christianly in the world in which they live. Further, evangelism and Christian nurture must be put back into the hands of God's people. God has called us who are leaders to equip His people for works of service, yet we so often find ourselves, and a small handful of helpers, struggling to do the ministry with our limited resources. May God lead us to creatively find the balance between relationships and programmes.
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