Last month I put in a plea that we see church planting as ministry multiplication, and ministry multiplication is something we are all engaged in, and occurs whenever we begin Word proclaiming ministries such as youth groups, new Bible studies, and mean's groups.
So often we hold back from creating new ministries until we are sure they will be successful, which means we never act. This month I want to argue that the success of ministry multiplication is not measured by long term viability of the new ministry. In fact I want to go much further and declare that new ministries which fail in this way are sometimes the sign of success!
Remember the ministry of the apostle Paul. He spent three years in Ephesus, and by the time John writes the seven letters to the churches Ephesus has real problems, which is a better track record than the church at Corinth where Paul laboured for eighteen months. To judge ministry multiplication by longevity would make the apostle a failure.
There are three simple points I want to make to help us in our thinking.
1. To create new ministries, even those which do not last is better than doing nothing. One of the biggest hurdles we face is contentment with the way things are. This leads to inactivity. Establishing new ministries calls for change in us, and focus on others. New ministries help old timers to mature.
2. Ministries which do not meet expectations are only failures when the effect on those involved is to convince them that multiplication ventures will always fail, that the failure is their personal fault, and that we fail in everything we do.
That is, the failure of new ministries should be measured by the negative impact it has on those involved. If we have set up the ministry as an opportunity to seize and then see where God takes it, it’s closure frees resources and can excite people about taking the next opportunity that arises. We need to teach each other to learn gospel optimism, that God is at work and will cause what He wants to grow, when He wants it to grow.
3. Closing ministries is healthy in teaching us that ministries do have ‘use by dates’, and should be closed down when they no longer meet our needs. We shouldn't be afraid of closing those ministries where resources can be employed better elsewhere. I often measure the progress of a church not by what it does, but by what it has closed down!
The point of my comments is that we should not be afraid of commencing ministries. Fear of failure, which is the thing which normally stops us is not the main consideration. The things to carefully consider before beginning new ministries are:
"¢ have we helped our team to learn to take gospel opportunities, and to have gospel optimism when unplanned outcomes result?
"¢ have we asked the question whether this is the best use of the resources God has given?
