A Holistic Approach in Ministry

June 30th, 2010

In response to a question about what the greatest commandment is, Jesus said to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mk. 12:30).  He created us with a body, mind, soul, and heart.  We are “fearfully and wonderfully made,” knitted and woven together when we were made by Him (Ps. 139:13-14).

Here are some implications for ministry:

  1. God wants to use all of who we are when we serve.  Combining all these parts is a guide to how we could best serve based on His design of our lives.  It’s what we can call our ministry profile.
  2. God wants us to care about the whole person in those we serve.  Remember the second greatest commandment?  We are to love others as we love ourselves (Mk. 12:31).  Just as we attend to the whole of who we are, so we should care for the whole person of those whom we serve.  As a church we can get caught up in ministering to the spirit.

I Know Some Servants

June 28th, 2010

With the Spiritual Gift of Hospitality

to warmly welcome people, even strangers, into one’s home or church as a means of serving those in need of food or lodging

Servant #1: She enjoyed hosting a small group in her home but when asked to lead the group, became frustrated and discouraged.  When simply hosting, she eagerly focused on making sure people were comfortable and had what they needed.  When facilitating the group, she tended to be more anxious and unsure of herself.

Servant #2:  She was there watching for me every week when I was a guest speaker at her church’s Sunday School for a series of lessons.  She not only genuinely welcomed me, but offered for me to sit with her and her husband during the worship service.  She introduced me to others within the body.  And, she often invited me to lunch after the service.

Servant #3:  He was often one of the first to spot a visitor and extend a hand of welcome.  He quickly put people at ease by his warm smile and kind words.  He helped them find their way around the church and answered any questions they had.  Here’s the catch: Nobody asked him to do these things.  

All of these servants took pleasure in using their spiritual gift of hospitality.  It is what they enjoyed and did well.  They offered “hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Pet. 4:9).

Lesson to Be Learned:

When doing what lines up with our spiritual gifting, pulling on His power, we are energized to serve.  When serving outside of our gifting, it is so much easier to grumble and complain, to get frustrated or discouraged.  When serving in accordance with His divine empowerment, we will tend to serve with enthusiasm, cheerfulness, and diligence.

So, You Were Asked to be a Health Ministry Coordinator!

June 24th, 2010

I received an e-mail from someone who was asked to coordinate a health ministry in her church and was looking for help.  I thought perhaps my response could benefit others. 

I’m not in the medical field and I have never been involved in a health ministry of a church.  So, right upfront, I need to say that I am not coming at this from an experience base.  I am looking at it from a biblical perspective for balance and observation of what churches have done.

Some churches do nothing, solely dealing with spiritual issues.  On the other side of the spectrum are churches that have a health and wellness program that is so focused on the physical that it could just as well be done by a secular group.  Then there are churches that “dabble” in it, perhaps providing blood pressure screening and having a nurse/doctor within the church recruited to be on-call for emergencies or first-aid.  And, some churches have a full program of services but keep focus on people’s whole being and not just the physical.

It would seem to me that if you are going to have a health ministry in a church, it should have some purpose other than purely attending to the physical being of people, a distinct purpose or emphasis that distinguishes it from what people can find elsewhere. 

Scriptural principles that can be considered are:

  1. We are to be stewards of our bodies and so a church can train people to treat their bodies (“a temple of the Holy Spirit”) in ways that glorify Him. (1 Cor. 6:19-20)
  2. We were made by God with a body, mind, soul, spirit.  The greatest command is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mk. 12:30).  And so, a church can minister to the whole person, integrating physical, spiritual, emotional, mental, and social health and wellness.
  3. We are told that Jesus came “that they may have life, and have it to the full” (Jn. 10:10).  Might that not include the whole of our lives and not merely the spiritual?  And so, a church can help people experience that abundant life spiritually but also physically as is possible on this side of eternity by helping people learn to prevent problems physically that could affect the rest of their being.


The questions are:

How far should your church pursue and provide a health and wellness ministry?  How much of the church’s resources (time, volunteers, budget, facilities) should be devoted to it?  — I cannot provide answers for your church.  Prayer is integral to answering those questions.

How many of the following services should your church provide?  blood pressure and other health screening, fitness training, nutrition classes, scheduling medical personnel (nurse, doctor) to be on standby for emergencies or first aid during services, participation in a blood donation program, HIV/Aids awareness, making referrals, providing information & resources about health care, massages of head, neck, and shoulders for stress relief, CPR training, flu clinic, help for living with chronic illness, visitation, basic care for the elderly, basic care for pregnant women or new mothers, visitation, serving as a liaison or advocate, etc.

How far should your church go in instructing about health and wellness?  (health fair, classes, preaching, workshops, seminars, newsletters, support groups, counseling of options, etc.)

How far reaching should these services be extended?  (your church family only or also as a community outreach)

If you are getting involved on the ground level then you should:

Build a purpose/vision statement.  — why you will do what you do

Build a profile of your church members (age, sex, physical issues and needs they face).  –  where you will focus (start with greatest needs)

Build a team of qualified people and train them.  — who will implement the ministry

Build a plan.  — how to meet the needs with the time, budget, facilities, and volunteers you have to work with

Build a calendar of activities.  — when you will provide services, training, classes, etc.

Build an awareness among the congregation and/or community.  — what this ministry can do for them

If you are directing or coordinating a pre-existing health ministry in your church, then you would probably not do the first task listed above unless  it was never done.  The other tasks will be ongoing activities.  You will organize, schedule, plan, recruit, train, and supervise volunteers to achieve the ministry’s objectives.

For more specific help, let me suggest that you network with people from other churches who have implemented an effective holistic health ministry.

Pastors & Ministry Leaders: Lead by Example

June 22nd, 2010

I often find myself suggesting that leaders must lead the way by the example of their lives, not simply through their words or decision-making and planning efforts.  Through my many years of involvement in the church, I have seen both the good and bad in leaders.  The power of leaders leading by example was often seen in the outcome.

The effective leaders were those who set a good example, modeling Christ-like attitudes as well as godly behavior. 

The ineffective leaders were those with integrity breaks who told people one thing but did another.

Here are some examples on the MinTools.com site of where I write of the need for pastors and leaders to lead by example:

Training, being equipped to serve:  The first tip in an article providing Teacher Training Tips and Resources is “Training Begins with Leadership.”  I wrote, “If leaders are not convinced of the need to personally become better equipped in ministry, they will have a harder time convincing teachers of its importance. As they exhibit a humble, teachable spirit, teachers will come to realize that everyone needs to learn and grow, including them.”

Fellowship, relating with and building up one another:  In looking at causes for the declining of true fellowship in the church I wrote, “Pastors and ministry leaders must participate in fellowship with the Body as well, leading the way, if they expect others to follow suit.   It is so easy for pastors and ministry leaders to engage in fellowship with fellow staff and rarely with fellow church members.  People need to see both in leadership.”

Prayer Life, regularly communicating with our heavenly Father:  In the Prayer Ministry section of the site I wrote that we need to “Model what it means to have a lifestyle of prayer.”  “The impact of modeling an effective prayer life is seen in the life of Christ. After observing the priority and passion Jesus had in spending time with the Father, one of His disciples initiated a request to learn to pray.”

Worship, revering God as the One True God, the Sovereign Lord:  In the Worship Ministry section of the site I wrote that worship leaders must “Set the example in your own life of humbling yourself before Him so as to lead the way for the congregation. (See 2 Chron. 20:18 for an example.)”

Leading by example, however, isn’t something that should happen simply because of observation of church leadership effectiveness.  The concept of pastors and ministry leaders modeling the Christian life is:

biblical.  -  1 Pet. 5:2-3

Leadership is not lording our authority over people but being an example to them.

a matter of accountability.  -  Matt. 23

Jesus had some harsh words for the religious leaders of His day who did “not practice what they preach.”

commonsense.  -  Matt. 7:3-5

We aren’t going to see clearly where to take people if we aren’t going there ourselves.