“Whatever happened to those spiritual gifts surveys we completed about a year ago?” asked George. Twelve months earlier, the entire congregation was asked to complete the surveys along with a time and talent sheet. The project was led by Mary, the congregation’s Christian Education Director. However, like most churches, the information was never translated to a useable format for retrieval.
Would it help your church run more smoothly to get more people involved? Wrong question! A better approach, from the biblical perspective, is this: what is your church doing to help people find fulfillment by discovering their place in the Kingdom where God has uniquely created them to serve? It’s not about maintaining the institution. It’s about helping people find a ministry that provides fulfillment—producing fruit that is eternally significant.
Focus on these issues:
- Many large corporations have an HR person. That stands for Human Resources. For your church, find the “GR” person—God’s resources!
- Distribute surveys, take the information, but don’t stop there!
- Determine what gifts, talents, and interests connect with various ministries in your church and your community. Develop a database that ties gifts and talents with ministries.
- Turn your focus from maintaining the institution to helping people find divine fulfillment.
- Focus on John 15 where Jesus points out that we are to produce much fruit, the kind that is eternal. Jesus adds, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” This is fulfillment!
- This person-centered approach should be consistent. If you find someone who has a passion, vision, and the gifts for a ministry your church doesn’t have, make it your responsibility to either create that ministry or help them find a church where they can exercise the uniqueness God has given to them.
- Teach and preach that finding your niche in God’s servant-Kingdom work is tied directly to fulfillment. Fulfillment is about giving not getting.
- An increasing number of people retire every year. Help them understand that retirement, from the Christian perspective, is “refirement”—redirecting where God has called them to serve.
- Recognize that when people are in their right niche, they don’t need motivation or schedules to make them show up.
Most large corporations wouldn’t operate without an HR person. Your church should consider this important ministry: the GR person. Even in the smaller congregation, a part-time volunteer can help people find their niche. Celebrate God’s plan for your church—release God resources for fulfillment within each person. The result? It ultimately achieves just what most churches need: the deployed resources to help make ministry happen.
How does your church release God resources for fulfillment within each person? We welcome your comments below.
Kent Hunter, founder of Church Doctor Ministries, is known as the Church Doctor. His most recent e-books are The Future Is Now and The J-Dog Journey, available at no cost. Contact him at (800) 626-8515, by email, Twitter, Facebook, or visit www.churchdoctor.org.
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