How are we going to organise our ministry partnership in order to connect with all of Sydney with the gospel?
There are lots of books that give the answer. The problem is that the answers are all different.
The Mixed Economy
It seems to me that when it comes to ministry structures, there is no single model that will completely serve our needs.
When I studied Commerce at school we learnt that economies begin as single activity economies that are entirely subject to the ups and downs of the prevailing market conditions. Over time other, different industries commence that means the economy is no longer dependent on just one activity.
A few years ago, the Mission Shaped Church group of the United Kingdom was charged with exploring how to reach their nation with the gospel. They came up with the term "mixed economy", by which they meant there was an important place for traditional parish ministry as well the necessity of new types of churches operating side by side with the traditional churches. Their argument was that geographical, traditional parish based ministry was still essential but that it was insufficient to meet the evangelistic needs of a changing country. The challenge was how to allow both types of ministry to flourish.
That both types of ministry are essential for reaching our city and our nation seems obvious. But how can it be done.
The Impediments
Sadly, many of the impediments to mixed economy ministry stem from the feelings of competition, and they are most keenly felt when the ministries are conducted by friends, from the same theological and denominational stable. There seems to be less concern when ministries are conducted by those of different theological or denominational allegiance. I am sure the list of impediments to mixed economy ministry is longer than this, but here are some of the ones I regularly see.
1. Resources. Ministries that are near each other compete for limited resources. It is thought that any new ministry that is nearby will take my people or my resources away from me.
2. Demonising. When a different ministry commences it is common to cast the other as the enemy and seek for every little thing that is not as it should be in their ministry. There is often little gospel generosity from either side.
3. Unfair advantage. Both ministries may think that the other has an unfair advantage of additional firepower. The traditional ministry may see the new ministry as unshackled from some of the responsibilities they have to bear, while the new ministry sees the traditional ministry as already having many of the things they desperately desire to create.
4. Disunity. Because ministries are conducted by friends with similar goals a new ministry is seen as breaking unity. The commencement of a new ministry is sometimes cast as a lack of trust in what is already happening in the traditional setting. I often hear people say "why would you want to break fellowship with good ministries?"
5. Oversight. The networks of care, accountability and oversight sometimes must be different for new ministries. This challenges established structures and may lead to hostility.
6. Fresh eyes. Established ministries sometimes need fresh eyes. I often hear traditional ministries say "we would love someone to come and commence a ministry amongst the hard to reach people of our parish". It is true that often new ministries commence in easy areas rathe than difficult ones. It is also true though, that sometimes traditional ministries cannot see the huge holes in those they are not reaching and just assume they are doing a reasonably good job. It may take fresh eyes to see and seize these opportunities.
A way forward?
Our city has many unsaved souls. Our traditional churches have done well in reaching people, but there are still so many that remain untouched by the gospel. Our city is changing and increasing in the variety of the way people relate and so our structures need to change and add variety as well. Mixed economy is the way to go.
Rather than being afraid of friends who are striving to achieve the same goals as we are, we must talk with each other, encourage each other, and let each other seek to proclaim Christ.
