Everyone is a minister

I've been thinking a little bit about what I posted earlier. I think a big key to a successful ministry is empowering the laity. If our churches are not empowering laity they are conditioning them to consume ministry rather than to minister.

When I started attending Trinity Hill they had a slogan (maybe we still do, I haven't checked in a while). It went something like: "Trinity Hill: Where Everyone is a Minister". I liked that. Still do. It may not be true in practice but it is a nice ideal.

As I reflect on the church I grew up in and how I came to know Christ I think fondly of the staff persons that ministered to me. We had some wonderful pastors and I was blessed by the ministry of two great youth pastors. But the people I remember most fondly and have the closest relationships with even to this day were laity. They volunteered their time to build relationships with us as teenagers and to help us develop into young Christian men and women. They were the life blood of those ministries. They still are.

Staff people can come and go but the lay leadership is the life blood of the church. Without lay leaders we're just throwing money at our problems and hoping someone can come in and solve them for us.