Philosophy of Ministry

The church exists to:

Exalt Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, preaching the gospel in order to win people to Jesus Christ, forming disciples in order to place them into the body of Christ, in order to transform the city, the nation, the world with the message of the gospel.

For a local church to function and fulfill its divine purpose, it must be strong in three key areas:

Worship-Prayer

Preaching-Teaching

Discipleship-Fellowship

Worship/Prayer – A “Presence-Led” Church

Worshiping God through Jesus Christ by the grace of the Holy Spirit is the very core of the church’s existence. By worship, I mean to say “first ministry”. Of the boy Samuel, it was said that he “ministered before the Lord” (1 Sam. 3:1ff). A church builds up the saints and reaches out to sinners, but first ministry belongs to the Savior. God is attracted toward those who lavish their praise upon Him, giving Him His rightful place as Lord over their lives, over the church, and over their city and nation.

Total access must be given to the Holy Spirit, to the Presence of God. This is the fruit of first ministry that is developed by corporately worshiping and waiting upon God. Corporate worship is when all the saints of a local assembly are assembled by the Holy Spirit in unity and purpose and have an unmistakable sense that God has drawn near (Eph. 2:21,22; 3:16-19). God “inhabits the praises” of His people (Psalm 22:3). Lives are changed and restored in the manifestation of the glory of God that comes through worship which is why it is such a key component and dynamic for a healthy church. In this heavenly-charged atmosphere, people will come to the altar to be saved before the altar call at the end. The hurting will be restored. The deaf will hear and the blind will see.

Prayer is often overlooked and overshadowed by praise and worship. The truth is one cannot biblically separate the ministry of prayer and intercession from worship. Power in the church comes through prayer and fasting. Prayer along with worship sets the atmosphere in glory and awe which allows for the gifts of the Spirit to flow throughout the body of Christ. This allows for prophetic ministry, for healing ministry, etc. – all to edify and build up the church.

The early church lived by this revelation: “The Lord in the midst of you is mighty to save!”

Christ-Centered Preaching/Teaching – A “Well Fed” Church

The kingdom of God operates by this principle: “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” What the people of God “taste” or are fed determines their ability to “see”. Seeing is understanding. It is knowing and relating with God through Jesus Christ. Seeing is also knowing who we are in Him and what He has called us to do. More than information, there must be illumination and revelation through the ministry of the Word of God which:

Fills the very content of our expressions of praise and worship.
Creates faith in the hearts of those who hear enabling them to live and pray with full confidence.
Builds up believers in the knowledge of Jesus Christ and in the purposes God has for them.
Gives vision of what God desires to uniquely do in and through the local church.

Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “You worship what you do not know” (John 4:22). A church can only worship, believe, grow and increase in influencing its surrounding geographical area to the degree of revelation and understanding it holds through the preaching and teaching ministry. The church, like an individual believer, can only become what it sees itself becoming.

The Word of God must be preached with great brokenness and humility, great anointing and with great compassion. Preaching must bring heaven down and, at the same time, lift humanity up. Therefore, the ministry of the Word must be relevant to the life conditions of those who hear. It must, as Jesus said, heal the brokenhearted, the bruised, and bring those who hear into a new purpose and dimension of living in the kingdom of God. My passion is to preach Jesus, preach the cross, to preach the gospel of the kingdom which is the message, “Our God reigns!”

When prayer, worship and the ministry of the Word of God are integrated, an atmosphere exists where the church can begin to transform the city by making disciples.

Discipleship/Fellowship – the Inner Strength of the Church

Discipleship is the process of fashioning believers into the image of Jesus, not only in character, but preparing them to do what Jesus did. For the infrastructure of a church to be strong, there must be an emphasis toward building up believers to function in the ministries they are called to. The strength of a church depends upon the strength of its infrastructure – that all ministries and programs are not ends in themselves, but exist to fulfill the purpose of the church. Therefore, every program of the church must help fulfill the vision or the purpose of the church. The church must be about making disciples of all nations and baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19-20). This causes the church to grow inwardly in quality and outwardly in quantity.

Ephesians 4 tells us that the ministry of apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers and evangelists is to “prepare the saints of God for works of ministry so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Eph. 4:11-12). We must have a good perspective of each and every person that God entrusts to us. Every believer is called to be fruitful. Every believer has purpose in the kingdom of God, in the body of Christ, in the local church. As each member of the body, each believer, does its part, the whole body grows and is built up.

Evangelize – God’s people will bring their unsaved family, friends, co-workers and neighbors to a church where something awesome is happening. The church must be one that sinners and the unsaved will be attracted to come to. So many people who live in our surrounding areas have been decimated by life and are disillusioned with the church as a whole. Religion is not the answer - there must be an atmosphere of love and grace. There must be an overwhelming sense that God is doing something great in the midst of the church.

Consolidate – How often do people come in the front door of a church and visit or are even saved and they go right out the back door and are never seen again! Every person who visits and/or is saved must be quickly and adequately encountered by a trained ministry team in order to bring that individual into the mainstream of the local church. We can love people into the kingdom of God. To do that, the atmosphere of the church must be one of:

a. Affection – the people relate warmly with one another

b. Compassion – the people deeply care about one another

c. Security – people can relate without fear of prejudice or malice

The ministry of consolidation exists not only to bring new members into the mainstream of the church, but to assemble the people together in unity and purpose under the direction and enabling of the Holy Spirit.

Equip – Another reason why people go out the “back door” of the church is because they feel there is no purpose for them there. Every believer has potential as a disciple having talents and gifts that must be nurtured and developed. We must build up and equip people in order to utilize their potential so that the church can be strong internally. When a church is strong internally, it can begin to spread out and increase numerically – the vision for the church can expand.

All education ministries share the role of equipping men and women, boys and girls.

Place/Send – Every disciple must be placed in their proper place in the body of Christ. How much confusion is there when people are put in wrong positions with inadequate training! Yet the Bible says in Psalm 133, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” Unity does not happen haphazardly but is created when the pastoral ministry equips believers and properly places them as disciples into the ministries they are suited for and that God has ordained for them.

When the church is strong within, it can then begin to reach out and influence the geographical area in which it is located. The people of God in a local church setting would then have the opportunity which is our mandate to preach the gospel to the nations.