by Pastor Patrick Cho

Dear LBC family and friends,

I hope you are doing well and walking in the Lord. The second chapter of The Trellis and the Vine, by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne, is called “Ministry Mind-Shifts.” The challenge presented in this chapter is that most ministries need to rethink and reevaluate what its ministry’s goals and methods are. As we learned from chapter 1, programs are not the essence of what biblical ministry ought to be. Programs are nice and helpful, but they serve the purpose and are not the purpose of ministry in themselves. The goal of ministry ought to be to see a body of believers who are committed to fulfilling the Great Commission – disciples of Christ making disciples of Christ.

One shift in ministry philosophy that needs to take place is to move from running programs to building people. Instead of thinking about what you want the finished product of your program to look like, you should begin with the people you have and mold the ministry to their giftedness and availability.

Another shift involves moving from running events to training people. Think about how much more effective evangelism in the church would be if the focus were less about having evangelistic events and programs and more about training up your members to preach the gospel and be committed to it. The program might be run by a small team of members, whereas the training would address and involve the entire church.

Other shifts that the authors propose are to move away from using people to growing people, and to move away from filling gaps to training new workers. When I was in college, I remember visiting various churches and having them try to get me involved in their children’s ministries. They didn’t know much about my gifts, talents, and abilities, but they needed workers to watch the kids. Unfortunately, a lot of churches function in this way, simply trying to fill the gaps that are left by members who have moved away or resigned.

The book offers eleven of these “ministry mind-shifts” that help us to evaluate what really ought to be the focus of what we do. If the Great Commission is about people building up people, then our focus should move away from solely mounting up programs and events. The programs and events help serve the work of the Great Commission, but are not the fulfillment of the Great Commission in and of themselves.

In His grace,

Pastor Patrick

Here are the announcements for this week:

1. Bible Studies. The youth and singles will be having their regularly scheduled Bible studies tonight. The college group will not be meeting on campus this week due to the College Life Retreat at Pine Valley. If you are in college and not going to retreat, you are welcome to join the singles tonight at the church at 7:00pm. Check out the church website for more information about our Friday night Bible studies. Also, please pray for our college ministry as they have retreat this weekend at Pine Valley! Pray for safe travel to and from the retreat site as well as a wonderful weekend learning God’s Word!
2. Flocks. Next week, our regular midweek Bible studies will not be meeting. Instead we will be having our regional flocks. Visit the flocks page at the church website to download the sermon response worksheet. Fill it out and come prepared for the large group discussion. For more information about flocks, you can either check out the website or contact Peter Lim ( peterlim@yahoo.com ).
3. GraceLife Picnic at the Park/Fun in the Sun Day (FITS). Due to the poor weather forecast, this GraceLife event has been cancelled. However, the Care Ministry will be hosting a Fun in the Sun Day event on Sunday, March 6 to provide a time of fellowship and fun for all. FITS will be at the church beginning at 1:00pm. Lunch will be served for $5/person (youth and kids eat free!).
4. End Times Bible Study. To coincide with our study in 1 Corinthians, Pastor Patrick will be hosting a Sunday evening series on the end times. Come find out what the Bible says about eschatology through this helpful series. The meetings will be at the church from 6:00-8:00pm on March 6, March 20, April 3, and April 17. For more information, please talk to Pastor Patrick.
5. Parent/Child Dedication. We will be having our next Parent/Child Dedication during the worship service on Sunday, March 13. If you have recently had a child and would like to participate, please contact Pastor Patrick.
6. Single Life Retreat. The singles will be having their retreat on the weekend of March 18-20, at Pine Valley Bible Camp. Our speaker this year will be Pastor James Lee of Pillar Bible Church, and he will be addressing the theme of “Dependence.” The cost is only $130 (including a $50 non-refundable deposit). You can sign up with Brian Song tonight at Bible study or on Sunday at church!
7. Prayer. Don’t forget to come to church a little early on Sunday for a time of corporate prayer in the sanctuary. The sanctuary will be open for prayer at 8:45am, and prayer requests will be projected on the wall. If you are out in the foyer talking with one another, I would encourage you to remind each other of this time and come in to pray for the church.
8. Vision Quest. The winner of the skit competition from last Sunday’s Vision Quest is Team Banana! Congratulations to all the teams! It really was a great night together and a helpful look into the Vision of LBC.