Partnerships

What Kind of Facility Does a Church Really Need?

When a church needs a more permanent place to meet, one of the first questions considered is what sort of facility will be necessary to meet the needs of the church. On one side, that seems almost in the category of “first world problems.” Well-taught Christians understand that churches are a group of people that assemble together, not a building. Most of us have read or heard about churches that meet in countries that are hostile to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Republished, with permission, from Voice magazine, Nov/Dec 2013.

Two men sat in a cafe and shared ministry concerns over a cup of coffee. Young, energetic, and visionary, they dreamed of the things they could accomplish for God. They were already busily involved in ministry, but they saw so many other needed things they would like to do. There just did not seem to be time to do it all. “There is so much we could do,” one of the men commented, “If we could just get organized and make better use of our time.”

Energy, vision, and time management are essential for effective ministry. These two men might have become moderately more effective by better time management. Sharing their vision and zeal with ministry partners could, however, have made them markedly more effective. Ministry partnerships are an exceptionally effective way of increasing both the effectiveness and scope of one’s ministry. Partnerships not only afford faithful prayer partners and encouragers, but also enable pursuit of vision that is beyond one’s personal gifting and abilities. Additionally, partnerships help one maintain ministry focus through difficult circumstances that might otherwise result in overt ministry failure or even abandonment one’s God given calling.