A while back, I added a post on my philosophy of ministry. I’ve revised it, and wanted to go ahead and post the new one as well.

Summary Statement:

To equip and train the body of Christ to glorify and enjoy God, and to be missionaries in the spheres of influence that God has placed them in, through the preaching and teaching of the Scriptures in accordance with the historical orthodox faith, and by leading as an example with their own lives, recognizing that the elders of the church will be held accountable for those who are entrusted to them.

Unpacked:
God has ordained that his Church gather together in local autonomous assemblies for the purpose of worship, mutual encouragement and edification (Heb 10:25). These gatherings are to be led by Christ, who is the authority over the body (Eph 1:22-23), and then by a plurality of elders, whom the Holy Spirit calls to oversee the assembly (Acts 20:28). The Holy Spirit gifts these men to equip and train the body for “the work of the ministry” (Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:11-12). Everyone who is a Christian is called to be a missionary in the places that God has given to them (“work of the ministry”), because all Christians are “ambassadors of Christ” (2 Cor 5:20; Matt 5:16). The mission of the church is not to “bring people in to get saved,” but instead to train the body to go out with the Gospel message, proclaiming the glory of God.

This work of equipping and training is by God’s grace through two primary avenues: the elders’ ministry of preaching and teaching and their ministry of prayer (Acts 6:4).

Preaching: Elders, among the other qualifications, must be able to teach (full list at 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9), “correctly handling the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15). They are to teach the inspired, inerrant Scripture found in both the Old and New Testaments, (2 Tim 3:16-17), applying its truths to the lives and contexts of church.

Prayer: As overseers of the people God has entrusted to them, Elders must live a life of prayer. The elder must be in prayer for himself, repenting of sin and relying on God’s grace for the ministry given to them, and for those entrusted to him, interceding on their behalf.

The elders will be held accountable for the way they have watched over the church (Heb 13:17). They are to model Gospel-saturated lives in public and private, serving as visible examples to the body.

This mission is not supposed to remain within the building where the church gathers. The people of God are called to go into the world and preach the Gospel of reconciliation, disciple, and baptize (2 Cor 5:20; Matthew 28:19-20). This is to be done in word and deed. As the body of Christ, we continue his mission on earth as his ambassadors. As he announced the kingdom of God and called on people to repent (Mark 1:15), so should we. As he proclaimed that his mission involved proclaiming good news, freedom, and healing (Luke 4:18-19), so should we. Christians tend to ignore one in favor of the other, but true Gospel ministry contains both.