Is Your Congregation About Solutions or Something Less?

An article differentiating between congregations who are significant and those who have fully surrendered to God leading.

Is Your Congregation About Solutions or Something Less?

Consider the congregations you have known during your life. Place them in three categories. The first are congregations who strive for faithfulness as Christ-centered faith communities. They strive to be successful. They are about two-thirds of all congregations.

The second category are those who have high expectations about the programs, ministries, and activities of their congregation. They see these as high-quality elements which will attract people and motivate them to become deeply involved in the congregation. It is important to do things which are significant in Kingdom ministry and to involve as many people as possible in them.

The starting point for the third category is to understand the process of disciplemaking. They involve people in a spiritual journey of surrendering to God’s calling on their life. They have high expectations that people grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior – Jesus Christ. They design processes for helping people grow deeper in their spiritual walk and missional engagement.

These three categories present us a classic 80/20 assessment. Although category one is two-thirds of all congregations, they only result in 20 percent of Kingdom progress. Categories two and three are only one-third of all congregations but result in 80 percent of the Kingdom progress experienced in Christianity.

Best Practice and Best Solutions Congregations

With this in mind, let’s focus on categories two and three. A name I offer for category two is Best Practice. For category three Best Solutions.

Is the difference between Best Practice and Best Solutions congregations a lot? Yes!

First, as an overview, Best Practice congregations begin with the idea of building a significant high-quality congregation. They have excellent programs, ministries and activities focused on discipleship plans and active church membership. They pursue increased church growth through implementing strategic plans. Ministry innovation is more focused on missional support than direct missional engagement. They push forward to be the greatest church they can possibly be.

Best Solutions congregations begin with the idea of deploying people in response to the call of God on their life for proactive missional engagement. They call on people to surrender to God with their full heart, soul, mind, and strength. God’s empowering vision for their full Kingdom potential pull them forward. Clearly present are vitality and vibrancy, leadership competency and trust, an external local and global missional focus, effective disciplemaking, and missional innovation.

Second, Best Practice congregations place more emphasis on the church gathered rather than the church scattered. People are urged to come to church services so attendance will grow.

Best Solutions congregations place more emphasis on the church scattered rather than the church gathered. People are urged to find their spiritual calling from God and pursue it. Even if it takes them away from regularly schedule church worship services.

Third, Best Practice congregations focus on the program of discipleship. They urge people to attend weekly small groups where they gain more knowledge of the written word of God, fellowship with one another, and nurture a caring community. Their prayers are about the hopes, hurts, and griefs of daily life for their extended family, and people in their network. They engage primarily in missions support projects to satisfy their need to be a witness for God.

Best Solutions congregations focus on the process of disciplemaking. They urge people to connect with small groups who dialogue about prophetic service like the early Christian church. They have fellowship with one another and are an outwardly focused community of faith seeking to help each person respond to God’s calling on their lives.

Their prayers are primarily about the spiritual needs of people, how they can best connect with and nurture the lives of these people, and the mission God has for them in the world.

Fourth, Best Practice congregations often beg for volunteers to help staff their programs, ministries, and activities. It is hard to know if their efforts are more about large numbers, or about transforming people with the love of God through Jesus Christ.

Best Solutions congregations are continually commissioning people who have acknowledged God’s calling on their lives to minister in gathered or scattered settings. Seldom do congregational programs, ministries, or activities go wanting for the service of commissioned people. They believe God is calling out the numbers needed.

Fifth, at times Best Practices congregations are larger than Best Solutions congregations because of a greater emphasis on numbers. They do many significant things that honor the Great Commission in the spirit of the Great Commandment.

Because of the affirmation of the call of God for each person, Best Solutions congregations have a missional engagement pattern with a greater impact on transforming the world spiritually. Their heart is to fully surrender to God.

My heart’s desire is for Best Solutions congregations, and never anything less.