The Spirit and Structure of Church Development

by Ron Hamilton, Conference Minister

I enjoyed teaching a Pastor’s Class as a part of my local church ministry. One session of that Pastor’s Class involved teaching the junior high youth about the nature of the church. In an effort to keep it simple and straightforward, I prepared a lesson on the Spirit and Structure of the Church. I presented the concept of Spirit as the spiritual energy and passion of worshipping and serving the Lord.   In contrast, the Structure of the church related to the programs and organizational support to activate the Spirit of the church.

I believe that the CCCC ministry of Church Development is designed to strengthen the Spirit and the Structure of our member churches. One lesson in the LifeFlow curriculum focuses on the Static (structure) and Dynamic (spirit) nature of the church. The material cautions against an imbalance in either direction but also shares that perfect balance is not possible since it is so dependent on the work of the Holy Spirit. One of our mentors, Mike Perkinson, taught us that balancing the Static and the Dynamic is like tuning the strings on a guitar that are so dependent on the conditions of the room.

The leaders of a healthy disciple-making church are constantly trusting God to fine tune their ministry. It takes both Spirit and Structure to live in obedience to Jesus as we “love God…love others…and, as we go, make disciples”. This requires both a spiritual fervor and an organizational structure to move forward. A church that is imbalanced on either part cannot be effective. For example, churches can have a passion for reaching the next generation of children and youth. But, this cannot happen without devoted and trained leaders. While prayerfully presenting the needs of the next generation, a church also needs to have the leadership training in place to provide the support structure for this to happen. Healthy churches strategically work to involve their members in the ministry.

There is no perfect program for church development. However, the CCCC approach helps church leaders assess their ability to effectively serve Jesus in their community. The material guides members through the Spirit and Structure of practical church ministry and engages people in the process.   Members of our team also walk alongside the church leaders to provide coaching on ways to fully implement a ministry that touches and changes the lives of people with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is hope that the Spirit and the Structure of our churches can be strengthened in a way that honors our Lord Jesus!