We stopped to get a hamburger the other night. While debating what to have on my Whopper Jr., the lady pointed out, “Have it your way, this is Burger King.” Isn’t that great, I thought. Wouldn’t life be grand if I could have it “my way” all the time, even some of the time?
The more I thought about it the more I realized that I was thinking like a consumer not like a provider. As Church Planters we are providers.
As providers we must consider the needs of our people, not just their wants. People come to Church for a number of reasons. Some come seeking answers. Some feel their children need religion. Some are looking for friends. Whatever their reasons, our responsibility is to give them what they need, not just what they want. They’ve had it their way long enough – many are broken and need to hear about “God’s way.”
We initially visited a church because friends invited us. They provided a nursery and fed us donuts. We had no interest at all in spiritual things. We were not “seeking.” However, at every meeting the gospel was tactfully presented. At first I was repulsed by it. Eventually I tolerated it. “Why did they have to ruin every party with “religious” talk?” And yet they remained consistent. Romans 10:17 says, “So faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of God.” They provided what we needed, not what we wanted.
As you plan your services, form your teams and format websites, consider the formula laid out in Scripture, “And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
Is anything missing from your ministry?
