From time to time we are asked if we have a particular ministry. Or sometimes people will ask when we will be starting such-and-such a ministry. Sometimes they ask because their last church had it. Sometimes they ask because they are passionate about it.
We don’t try to do everything. That burns people out and gets the church running off into too many different directions at once.
We are decidedly and deliberately simple at PCC when it comes to the church calendar and ministry programs we offer. In my opinion, many churches (and well-intentioned church workers) try to offer too much. This is one of the most overlooked barriers to building a healthy congregation; we wear people out! Instead of concentrating on a limited number of initiatives, they dabble in forty different things and miss being good at any of them.
The older a church gets, the truer this becomes. Programs and events continue to be added to the church agenda/calendar without ever cutting anything out. Remember, no program is meant to last forever. A bloated church calendar diffuses the energy of a church. It is essential to the health of our church that we periodically “clean house” – abandon programs that have outlived their purpose. When the horse is dead – dismount!
Understand, mere activity does not equal productivity. A church can be well organized and maintain a full slate of programs, but that doesn’t mean they are effective. Effectiveness means DOING THE RIGHT THINGS and letting the other things go. When energy is wasted on unproductive programs, it is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic; everything looks nice and organized, but it doesn’t matter because the ship is still sinking!
We don’t try to do everything. That burns people out and gets the church running off into too many different directions at once.
We are decidedly and deliberately simple at PCC when it comes to the church calendar and ministry programs we offer. In my opinion, many churches (and well-intentioned church workers) try to offer too much. This is one of the most overlooked barriers to building a healthy congregation; we wear people out! Instead of concentrating on a limited number of initiatives, they dabble in forty different things and miss being good at any of them.
The older a church gets, the truer this becomes. Programs and events continue to be added to the church agenda/calendar without ever cutting anything out. Remember, no program is meant to last forever. A bloated church calendar diffuses the energy of a church. It is essential to the health of our church that we periodically “clean house” – abandon programs that have outlived their purpose. When the horse is dead – dismount!
Understand, mere activity does not equal productivity. A church can be well organized and maintain a full slate of programs, but that doesn’t mean they are effective. Effectiveness means DOING THE RIGHT THINGS and letting the other things go. When energy is wasted on unproductive programs, it is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic; everything looks nice and organized, but it doesn’t matter because the ship is still sinking!
God wants churches to be effective.
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