Ministry Driven
Westside Christian Church is a “Ministry Driven Church”. What does “Ministry Driven” mean and why ministry driven? Every church either purposefully or not has a philosophy that moves them in the direction they travel spiritually. I think that it is safe to say that there are a large number of congregations that are “Ministry Driven”. They may not go around saying they are ministry driven for one of several reasons.
It may not be their stated purpose because they don’t feel it is necessary or it is possible that they just never thought about it in those terms. The reason we have chosen to clearly state our purpose is to help give the leaders and the congregation of the Westside Christian Church direction.
The main mission of any church comes from Jesus and His commission “To go into all the world and preach the gospel, making disciples and baptizing and teaching all things” (Matthew 28:16:20)
The way Westside Christian church has chosen to labor toward fulfilling the “Great Commission” is through ministry. Let me see if I can help you picture how this could works …
It starts with each Christian loving God and wanting to see the Kingdom of God do well. We call that “Reaching up - to Reach out”. When you connect with God there will be a natural desire to serve Him. Paul writes this in Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship.” It is our understanding that when you reach up to God your heart will be touched in such a way that you will want to do something positive with your life. That naturally will lead you toward ministry.
You don’t have to go to Bible College to be a minister- you just have to know Christ and then be willing to use your life to glorify Him. At Westside Christian Church it is our hope that everyone finds a ministry to lead or help. We also believe in serving because you “get to” - instead of serving because “you have to“. We would rather you serve with a spirit of joy instead of serving because no one else will.
We operate thorough “Ministry Teams“. A ministry team is two or more people serving in some capacity that promotes the Kingdom of God. Most of our ministry teams work primarily for the over all good of the Westside Christian Church, but not all.
For example; on site we have “Meals on Wheels” who serve the common good of our community. They offer senior shut-ins a place to socialize and dine together. Another ministry that is not limited to the Westside Christian Church is MOPS. Their mission is to our community of young mothers helping them spiritually as they raise their children.
Each “Ministry Team” has a leader. A leader is just like a deacon over a specific area of service. The word deacon in the Greek means servant or minister. A deacon generally serve in a specific area for a specific purpose.That is exactly what a ministry team leader does.
We ask that a ministry leader- lead with excellence in their area of ministry. Excellence means; fulfilling their responsibility with joy, creativity and leading in such a way to give God the glory. It is our hope that through their leadership they will reach out to others with the love of God. As they reach out we can envision the kingdom growing and their ministry personnel growing. We would expect our ministry leaders to include others who are looking to serve. We would also encourage our ministry leaders to work as an independent ministry (taking care of as many of its own needs as possible) making their own decisions as how best to minister to those in their care.
However, they should keep in mind the importance of communicating to the minister and elders of the church. It is also important that our ministry leaders respect the over all mission and ministries that are on going - at the Westside Christian Church. Operating independently shouldn’t be misunderstood to be used in a disrespectful way.
The Elders of the Westside Christian Church are committed to helping every ministry team to be successful. They have invited me to work along side of the ministry teams and leaders as they need help. As a Senior Pastor I have three main responsibilities; 1). To preach and teach the gospel of Christ. This is coupled with the over-all spiritual well being of the membership of the Westside Christian Church. 2). To oversee the staff of the Westside Christian Church. The staff of the Westside Christian church are my right and left hands - they help me to meet all the needs of the Westside Christian church - in turn I must make sure they have everything they need as they minister. & 3). It is my responsibility to effectively communicate with the elders; needs, concerns and growth opportunities as I see them. The elders communicate to me where they feel we should spend our efforts most effectively as we labor for Christ.
“It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead speaking truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is Christ. From Him the whole body joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4:11-16)
I challenge you to make some kind of contribution to the Kingdom of God. Understand that in the process of contributing to such a great mission that there will be sacrifices along the way. However, at the end of our days those who serve will be able to say “We made a difference.” If you would like to be a part of a ministry team or lead a ministry team - be sure to speak to me.
Pastor Gary