How and why McDonald’s can help us in the ministry of training.

by Mark Charleston

When we think about Christian ministry, church growth and training, we find ourselves with the problem of the chicken and the egg. Which comes first: do we look to grow the church and then train people from among the congregation, or do we make training our starting point and grow the church from there?
The Bible teaches that Christian ministry must begin with training. But what are the theological reasons for this, and what practical difference will this understanding make in our approach to Christian ministry within our churches?
Theologically, the Bible teaches us that the word of God creates the church – not the other way around. In the Old Testament book of Exodus, we see that it is God’s word that gathers his people. Israel is gathered around the word of God at Mount Sinai.
In the New Testament, the word creates the church in the book of Acts. The apostles go out preaching the word, thus establishing the church. In fact, the whole book of Acts is a great testimony to the sovereign power of God’s word in a world that is in rebellion against him. It’s an encouragement to Christians to hold onto the truth that God’s word is powerful and is used by him to draw a people to himself.
Because God’s word gives rise to the church and God’s chosen means of creating his church is through his word, we shouldn’t only train leaders once the congregation has arrived. Rather, we should firstly train teachers of the word of God, then send them out to build the church. As we train ministers of the word – either in our local churches or on the larger, diocesan level – the more the word will be proclaimed, and therefore, the more the church will grow.
Nobody needed McDonald’s before they arrived in Australia in the 1970s.Yet since the product was first introduced – in my then-hometown of Yagoona, in 1971 – the ‘need’ for McDonald’s has grown enormously. On average, more than one million Australians visit their stores every day.
What can McDonald’s possibly teach us about church growth and ministry? Admittedly, there is a problem with using a secular image: once a product is offered and marketed, consumers often see a genuine need for it. Yet our theology tells us that nobody sees the need for the gospel message unless the Holy Spirit has regenerated them to see that need.
But how does the Holy Spirit work? He works through the word. As far as encouraging us to be involved in training, then, the McDonald’s analogy is useful. The more widely a product is available, the more people see a ‘need’ for it. Thus, the more we train messengers of the word – who spread the ‘product’ of the gospel and proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ – the more we can expect to see the church grow.

Practically speaking, this understanding will make a big difference to how we approach ministry. Without going into detail on what kind of training we might run, let me offer some brief reflections.
Firstly, it may help us to make some hard decisions on the programs that our church runs. No church has unlimited resources, so there are always decisions to be made. Many programs could be of some benefit, but what is going to be of most benefit to the future growth of the church? What ministries are going to offer the best training opportunities? What can we do to raise up more ministers of the word, who can then grow the church?
Secondly, our tendency, whether clergy or layperson, can be to react only to the urgent (even something as simple as improving the toilet block) and not to the most important needs. We organise our diaries and our resources around day-to-day concerns, but can easily lose focus on where we are really headed.
We need to ask ourselves the question, ‘What do we want our church to look like in five or ten years’ time?’ If we ask ourselves that question, and understand that we will get there through more ministry of the word, it will force us to train people in order to grow the church.