Here are some bullets from Steve Wright of InQuest Ministries and Providence Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC. What do you think?
• Ministry that seeks to make Christ above all else beautiful and that declares an uncompromising Gospel to those who do not know Christ (Galatians 1:6-9).
• Ministry that is measured by lasting disciples rather than attendance campaigns and focuses on the glory of our matchless Savior (John 15:1-15).
• Ministry that truly partners with parents and seeks as a priority the task of resourcing, training, and involving parents as the primary disciplers of their children (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).
• Ministry that prioritizes and champions equally the two institutions that are God-given: the Family and the Church (Acts 2:42-47).
• Ministry that seeks men who are biblically qualified pastors rather than charming activity directors (1 Timothy 3:1-7).
• A ministry environment that is healthy for a student pastor and his family; an environment where pastors will desire to stay long past today’s destructive low tenures (Matthew 10:10).
• Ministry that seeks to mentor students for adulthood, marriage, and family rather than seeking to develop lifelong youth group attendees (1 Corinthians 13:11).
• Ministry that invites, expects and teaches the biblical responsibility of older generations to invest in those younger in the faith (2 Timothy 2:2).
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Good stuff Jared, thanks for sharing.
More from Steve Wright in a recent post:
Some key markers of a family-equipping church are:
1. Parents need to resume their primary role as disciple-makers of their children.
2. Dads in particular need to resume the role as spiritual leader of the home.
3. The church’s ministries should be so integrated with one another so that:
When there is a service project, dads and sons are doing it together, or mothers and daughters, or entire families. Young men in the Youth Ministry that have no dads in the church will be mentored by a man in the church, and the same would be true for young women and mothers in the church. Families will take mission trips together. Women’s ministry will be integrated with the men’s ministry in such a way that single moms can receive help from the men. Those coming in from broken situations can expect to be around and embraced by families in the church who are more mature and growing in godliness.
4. The church trains and equips families to carry out the key role of discipleship.