Ministry of a Country Church
One of my top curiosities about Pastor Keene was how he always keeps the church running so smoothly. It was obvious that his priorities were focused.
“The main priorities of the church are found in the Biblical purpose of the church. In Acts chapter 2:42 the apostle Paul tells us the early church was devoted to teaching, fellowship, communion, and prayer. These are the goals of each program and activity that we have at our church to meet the needs of each person who attends. The smoothness of each such church gathering depends on the leadership directing it, and the passion of the volunteers who help to assist and see each program runs efficiently and effectively. This takes organizational skills, resources within churches financial abilities, and time to plan in advance. If you fail to plan you plan to fail.” He explained.
STEPPING AWAY FROM THE PULPIT
Being a church leader is highly demanding and rewarding at the same time, from merging the issues in the world around us into every sermon, to knowing your congregation, to planning for the right approach each and every Sunday that will dive deeply into the hearts of Christian followers, organizing outreach programs to spread the word of God, along with the countless other aspects of ministry that every leader faces, how can they keep up with their own personal lives in the process? Pastor Keene had only one way to explain it.
“Physical health is only a part of the practice involved in the principle of good stewardship of the body. I exercise almost every day to keep the balance of a healthy body, but the apostle Paul also said that bodily discipline is only of little profit to us, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and for the life to come ( 1 Timothy 4:8). I also start each day with prayer and a devotional time with the Lord reading and meditating on His Word. This has been a spiritual practice for me for over twenty years. This discipline and the enablement of the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit, help me face each day and be ready to face situations and challenges of ministry and home. Then each night I close my day with reading the Bible and praying and thanking God for His provision, protection, and blessings of the day.”
APPLYING UNIQUE TRENDS TO YOUR OWN MINISTRY
As times are changing all around us it would seem rather difficult to keep up with the new and ever changing ideas in the world today. It is important to bring new aspects into your sermons to keep your congregation actively interested in your messages. It is in a way like parenting, if you are to tell your children what you want them to do in a way that speaks to them in their own language then they are more productive� but on the other hand if you do not take the time to speak on their level in a way that interests them then your message may get lost and it goes in one ear and out the other.
Keeping your fellow Christians interested in learning the word of God and applying it in their everyday life is a challenge. So, how do you apply the many trends to your own ministry? I asked Pastor Keene how he does it, his answer was simple and to the point.
“There are many trends out there today, it’s like a smorgasbord. Each individual church is unique to God, and all are not based on the purpose driven, seeker friendly, mega-church style. We are a country church, yet our message has not changed. Our methods vary and size is not an issue. We are growing spiritually as individuals and as a body of believers, God is adding to our number as He sees the needs and meets them. Psalms 27:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, the people labor in vain.” Church growth in and of itself is not the main goal, but a healthy spiritually mature church full of believers that can go out and make a difference in this world through modeling the lifestyle and teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is still today for us the trend Jesus set when He called the first disciples, “Follow Me and I will Make You Fishers of Men.” Mark 1:17.”
Appealing to the younger generation through solid ministry can sometimes prove to be a little difficult. Although most children and teenagers may seem well-behaved at church, they may not always carry with them the messages learned from Sunday school or the sermons in which they hear. Pastor Keene and his wife Karen have a unique idea that is successful in reaching out to those younger people. It is called ‘Puppet Ministry’ and its affect is both inspiring and productive.
As we all know keeping teenagers interested in living a life devoted to God in today’s world where the pressures they face seem so intense and the constant publicity surrounding those who wish to remove God from our schools and other public areas seems at times almost impossible. With teens as the puppeteers and the younger children as the audience, the word of God is able to make a profound impact on those involved.
By incorporating teens in this fun approach to God’s word, they are able to take real-life issues and situations that they or someone they know has facedâÂ?¦ such as: cheating on a test, lying about something they have done, stealing, etc. to show the ways to handle the problems according to the bible and the rules that God has set for all of us to follow. The teenagers who deliver these messages of high moral content feel as though they have accomplished something great for a higher purpose and begin living as a role model for younger children. This sort of job sticks with them even outside of church as they discover along with the smaller children who watch with beaming faces just how important it is to obey God and live a spiritual life in His grace. One of the reasons for this is because they feel the responsibility of being a ‘teacher’ and causes them to react in a positive way. This helps them get a better understanding of discipleship according to the bible.
“Young people are very influenced by their peers especially those who are older! Older youth are to teach the younger by their example…We all teach by our example…Whether good or bad! Paul told young Timothy not to let anyone look down on his youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe… (1 Timothy 4:1) many adults even can learn of and follow the teachings of Jesus because of Sunday school teachers, and programs…that reflect the examples God has given to everyone to grow and mature spiritually.” Pastor Keene shared.
