“The Greatest Need in Churches Is the Release of Members for Ministry”

Yesterday I wrote about Richard Halverson’s discovery so fast forward thirty years and listen to a quote from Rick Warren. (Just as Richard Halverson was one of America’s most influential pastors in 1972, Rick Warren is one of America’s most influential pastor’s today).

“Napoleon once pointed to a map of China and said, ‘There lies a sleeping giant. If it ever wakes up, it will be unstoppable.’

“If we can ever awaken and unleash the massive talent, resources, creativity, and energy found in the typical local church, Christianity will explode with growth at an unprecedented rate. I believe that the greatest need in evangelical churches is the release of members for ministry.” (Emphasis ours pg. 1 Ministry Tool Box #73).

The release of members for ministry on a large scale will never happen as long as local churches continue to outsource mission to Parachurch organizations. In the future I will discuss how churches can keep mission as an in house experience. Keeping mission as part of the church experience doesn’t mean refusing to work with Parachurch ministries; it just means changing the way that we work with them.

Parachurch Organizations Have the Opportunities, Churches Have the People

The non involvement in local mission by local churches has created a major dilemma for American Christianity. Prison officials in a western state had requested a parachurch organization to provide programs for 27 of its jails and prisons. But they were having a very difficult time coming up with a positive response for any the 27 requests.

Out of the thousands of Christians that attend church every Sunday in that state surely God has wired enough of them to capitalize on the opportunity to minister in 27 jails and prisons. But the organization with the ministry opportunity does not have the platform to communicate with the thousands of weekly pew people. Church leaders have the platform, but ministries in jails and prisons are not a high priority on their “mission list.”

The Local Church/Parachurch dichotomy has created a “mission” dilemma on the American landscape. Parachurch organizations are often well connected and positioned to have an enormous ministry impact. But, Parachurch organizations do not have the people to make an enormous impact.

If the churches fail to see jails and prisons as their mission turf, we will continue to have churches with 22 players on the field and 50,000 spectators in the stands; and we will continue to lose the culture. Churches need Parachurch type ministries to restore passion to the laity. And Parachurch organizations need churches to supply people so that we can re-engage the needy. From a Christian perspective the needy are not just those who are homeless, they are also those who live in mansions, but do so without a relationship to God.