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Ministries that are missing...

Ministries that focus on Christ rather than activities.

I'm not saying this about all ministries by any means, but there are quite a few that fall in this trap. Activities + Christ = good activities
activities + nothing = not a ministry, maybe not bad, but not a ministry even if it is ran by Christians.

I would suggest more people going to hospitals and nursing homes, not just clergy. I'm a nursing student and see people who are in the hospital for weeks without a visitor. This is sad and wrong. It doesn't take much time at all, but an hour or 2 a week sharing the love of Christ can make a huge difference in a persons life and recovery from illness.
BTW it is proven people with visitors and a support group get well much faster. :D This isn't really new, but it is right up my alley and expertise.
 
I think that ministries should focus on Jesus like has been said.

I also think that ministries should focus on helping people who are really in need in their community. Like going to people's houses and performing maintenance on things that they can't do.
 
Hi there!

:smt039


"mentoring"...


We point people to Christ, and we pray for their salvation, then we leave them flaundering in faltering faith and discouragement.


This is where the Cathoic Church and CoJCoLDS's are really strides ahead of protestant denomination. They have strong mentoring programs to support new converts, and they are quick to place them into positions in the church.

Most protestant churches are diligent to pray for converts, but then seem to feel that the job is done.



Titus 2

~serapha~
 
Excellent suggestions. Just think if we could get the manpower to accomplish these things. And I don't mean the same small group of people who do 90% of the work already. I hope it is just my church, but I doubt it, that 10% of the congregation does 90% of the work. :-?

I pray that people understand the joy and fufillment in serving others for Christ, that could be a ministry in and of itself.
 
serapha said:
Hi there!

:smt039


"mentoring"...
Click to expand...
What in your mind is the difference between mentoring and discipleship?

This is something that I haven't thought much of and wanted your opinions.
 
Ive been in meetings where there was no agenda except to go in and cry out to God for His presence. I've saw what happens when he is sought out and waited for. In His presense there is healings, deliverance, testimonies, etc.

The same place I saw these great things happening in, I began to see mans agenda and programs take Gods place. I no longer know of anywhere that the Holy Spirit is being sought after wholeheartedly in a corporate body like I once did.
Everything is predictable and orchestrated by man most of the time these days.
Our net is too full of holes to hold the fish.
I would say that the ministry that is missing is the one that calls for us to put away our agenda and minister to God, from that all others will flow.
 
Great Point Destiny.

I think The Church needs to get rid of it's chip and start bowing down to the Cross again.

I've been fighting a struggle of pride, and truly waiting on God's timing to be blessed with His blessing. I know that I couldn't see the Son completely until I dropped the pride.

It's time to get back to the basics.
 
KnarfKS said:
Excellent suggestions. Just think if we could get the manpower to accomplish these things. And I don't mean the same small group of people who do 90% of the work already. I hope it is just my church, but I doubt it, that 10% of the congregation does 90% of the work. :-?

I pray that people understand the joy and fufillment in serving others for Christ, that could be a ministry in and of itself.
Click to expand...


HI there!


<grins>


YOu mean the 10% which are the pillars of the church which hold it up...


while the 90% of cate"pillars" crawl in and out each service yet never blossom into the butterflies that God intended?


~serapha~
 
Serapha to answer your question, yes. Not that the others are not Christians or something, I'm not saying that at all. But God expects more than to sit in a pew and listen to the preacher and the music.


Being in th 10%, it is our responsiblilty to encourage others to serve. Thats why I encourage the youth groups and younger people to start serving on missions trips and projects around the city, so they start young with the ability to serve and use their desire to serve for the rest of their lives. Adults are harder to motivate :D and have more responsibilities already to family and jobs (which is a form of service). I know that it is good to use the gifts God has given us for God's glory and we should encourage people in their faith to use these gifts.
 
Bible study. I mean real Bible study. I see and hear all the time about "Bible Studies" that are studying a book on the Bible like the Purpose Driven Life. Perhaps a good study, but it's not studying the Bible. Study a book of the Bible, line by line.

Discipleship is also severely lacking in the church today.
 
I agree with most of the statements regarding 'missing ministries' posted so far...

I would add that there is an unfortuneate tendency to put a LOT of effort into evangelism and next to nothing into follow up on that evangelism... on DISCIPLESHIP...

Christ said make "Disciples" - "Disciplined ones - not "make a quick altar call at the end of the service and once someone is saved promptly forget about them and their hurts, needs and problems... just move on to the next 'notch in the belt'"...

...it may just be my cynical Ozzie nature showing thru... but I have seen a lot of people come to Christ and then give up not long afterwards simply because they were left to their own devices instead of being nutured, supported, and cared for and about... :roll:

Jesus said "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples - If you have Love one for another..." It is something that strikes me as pecularly lacking in a lot of mainstream ministries now-a-days... the 'head count' has become more important than the 'heart'... :crying:
 
Good words BAP. I agree. While I've been called into mass evangelism, i fully intend to do it the biblical way. There are only two people in scripture given the title evangelist. Timothy and Phillip. These men not just presented the message in a manner that brought men to christ but they helped in teaching them as well. Phillip and the eunuch shows an excellent example of taking the time to talk of things of God.

Here's one way to look at it. You wouldn't bate a hook, real in a fish and then just leave it on the bank. You either through it back or eat it. now, while we don't eat people, we do need to finish the work we started. Reeling them in is a blessing in itself, but that's not all we are called to do. 8-)
 
Timothy said:
You wouldn't bate a hook, real in a fish and then just leave it on the bank. You either through it back or eat it. now, while we don't eat people, we do need to finish the work we started. Reeling them in is a blessing in itself, but that's not all we are called to do. 8-)
Click to expand...

Amen to that!!! :D
 
Timothy said:
What are some ministries that you think are missing in todays churches?
Click to expand...

Initiative evangelism, i.e., people of God hitting the streets with the gospel message, using some form of verbal presentation, without waiting for unbelievers to visit one's church. The widespread lack of such initiative on the part of the church today is absolutely deplorable.
 
Brother Ian said:
Bible study. I mean real Bible study. I see and hear all the time about "Bible Studies" that are studying a book on the Bible like the Purpose Driven Life. Perhaps a good study, but it's not studying the Bible. Study a book of the Bible, line by line.
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more! You have expressed my exact feeling on this matter. Books are ok, and certainly there are theologians and authors out there we should take seriously; however, over the years I have noticed an alarming overemphasis on books written by men rather than simply opening the Bible and studying it verse by verse.

A brother and I get together every Sunday afternoon and conduct just this type of Bible study. It has been extremely profitable!
 
Here's an idea for "initiative evangelism"

THE QUESTION
May I ask you a question If Yes, proceed
Are you absolutely, positively, certain sure, no doubt in your mind, that if you died this moment, you would go to heaven? (silence – we are waiting for the conviction of the Holy Spirit – don’t encourage3 conversation until they respond)
Here is what the scriptures say 3 different times in the Bible. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.†(brief pause)
Do you want to call on the name of the Lord? (if no, drop them..if yes) I’m going to tell you in a few words how to call on the name of the Lord. Then I’ll prove to you how you are saved.
Pray after me: Lord Jesus, thank you for coming into my life. Forgive me of my sins. Save my soul. I accept you now.
Do you have any different feeling now that you have prayed? If yes…That is the Holy Spirit stirring your body.
Now let’s go back to what the Bible said. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.â€Â
Now we are certain you called on the name of the Lord. I heard you; you heard yourself, and God heard you. Under these conditions, only 2 things can exist.
1`) You are saved now and forever, or 2) God is a liar.
Which do you think is correct? (pause and remain silent
 
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