Over the years that I and my husband have been working as a ministry. I have been asked many times, where is my church? This is of course a legitimate question, if one says they are a ministry, then they must have a church or be part of a church, right?
The answer to that is, no we do not have one, nor are we part of one. For most their ministry would just dry up and blow away at that point. However, ours has not. I believe this is in part to knowing in my heart that God called me, he called me to Shepard those who are un-churched, to those who need to hear the message or receive his blessings yet have no place to go.
Another reason we do not have a church is, we can’t afford to do so. Operating a church is expensive, the overhead alone is staggering, needing to rely on volunteers to assist with, housekeeping, liturgy or service planning. Environment (flowers and decorations). We are not privileged with the collective support of Conventions, diocese, Holy See’s or synods, as we do not identify ourselves as a denomination, nor are we non-denominational. Rather, we are faith based Christian ministry. What does that mean? We do not follow any specific set of canons, dogma or a specific theology other than what we are taught in the Gospels about Christ, and his commandments.
So, for us, having an actual building that people can come to does not exist. What we do, however, is bring the church into the community. We as members of the Body of Christ and therefore members of the church, take the message to where it is needed. Rather than have a destination for people to come to.
When we are questioned about how I can be a pastor, my Husband has answered many people who site 2 Timothy with “Who are we to judge who God calls to do his work?” I think the first time I heard that I was almost knocked off my chair, I was feeling like I did not belong in the role of a pastor. Sometimes that still haunts me, however, I have become more resilient in my belief that I am going what God has called me to do. in Galatians 3:28 Paul tells us, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” I firmly believe this to be true, and as such, we are all called in someway to serve the church and to serve God to fulfill his needs on earth.
Therefore, who are we to Judge who God has called?
Pastor Lisa
The answer to that is, no we do not have one, nor are we part of one. For most their ministry would just dry up and blow away at that point. However, ours has not. I believe this is in part to knowing in my heart that God called me, he called me to Shepard those who are un-churched, to those who need to hear the message or receive his blessings yet have no place to go.
Another reason we do not have a church is, we can’t afford to do so. Operating a church is expensive, the overhead alone is staggering, needing to rely on volunteers to assist with, housekeeping, liturgy or service planning. Environment (flowers and decorations). We are not privileged with the collective support of Conventions, diocese, Holy See’s or synods, as we do not identify ourselves as a denomination, nor are we non-denominational. Rather, we are faith based Christian ministry. What does that mean? We do not follow any specific set of canons, dogma or a specific theology other than what we are taught in the Gospels about Christ, and his commandments.
So, for us, having an actual building that people can come to does not exist. What we do, however, is bring the church into the community. We as members of the Body of Christ and therefore members of the church, take the message to where it is needed. Rather than have a destination for people to come to.
When we are questioned about how I can be a pastor, my Husband has answered many people who site 2 Timothy with “Who are we to judge who God calls to do his work?” I think the first time I heard that I was almost knocked off my chair, I was feeling like I did not belong in the role of a pastor. Sometimes that still haunts me, however, I have become more resilient in my belief that I am going what God has called me to do. in Galatians 3:28 Paul tells us, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” I firmly believe this to be true, and as such, we are all called in someway to serve the church and to serve God to fulfill his needs on earth.
Therefore, who are we to Judge who God has called?
Pastor Lisa
RSS Feed