"Ministry, Mission, and Maintenance"

      I haven’t been able to schedule my week away for continuing education yet this year so I have been reading some new books from the seminary bookstore. One that caught my eye is written by a man, David Ray, who has spent thirty years of ministry leading, studying, and teaching about the church.

      A faithful and effective church, he says, is really a 3-M company. The three Ms are the three requirements to which a church must attend Ministry, Mission, and Maintenance.

      The Ministry is composed of worship and spiritual nurture, education and disciple making, and the care of one another.

      The Mission is everything the church does beyond its doors, both individually and collectively, in response to God’s love.

      The Maintenance aspects of the church are all the other things needed to fulfill Ministry and Mission. They include money, property, policies, new members, leadership development, organizational order, planning, communications, and maintaining relationships with community and wider church.

      Dr. Ray says all three aspects are essential to a faithful and effective church. "A church that only attends to its Ministry responsibilities will be like a well-equipped fisherman who never goes fishing. A church that puts all its energy into its Mission will soon be exhausted. And a church that focuses only on its Maintenance tasks will be like a well-tuned car that is always up on blocks."

      Those images are important for us to get into our minds and hearts. Every church, ours included, needs to be evaluated on how well we are functioning in all three of these aspects of congregational life. Some aspects are easier, they come more naturally to us; others require more effort, or we have to be reminded to pay attention to them. Wise leadership holds us accountable for all three aspects in dynamic relationship one with another.

      When things seem a little hectic around here (and they certainly do sometimes!) I’m going to try to remember that 3-M company we are trying to be as a church. And I continue to thank God for you and the exciting and wonderful church you have built as a faithful witness to Jesus Christ in this place.