For the past several decades, parish ministry has basically consisted of offering different programs to meet the needs of the people. If you need Baptism, then we have a Baptism program. If we need to prepare our young to receive their entrance sacraments, then we have a religious education program. Need formation for youth? No problem, we have a youth ministry program.

Programs are basically a way to organize the instruction and management of members in the Church. Programs, in and of themselves, aren’t bad. After all, Jesus used programs to minister to the multitudes. Our problem is that we have lost sight of the other model of ministry Jesus not only used, but intended on being the Church’s chief method for growing disciples. It’s called relational ministry.

Jesus called twelve men to follow Him and be His direct disciples. He not only instructed them and used them to manage the people during major program events, but also invested His heart in them for three years. It was this personal investment that He was using as a model that His men would then replicate after His departure. His main focus was not on the multitude, but the Apostles who would carry on His mission after He rose from the dead.

Our problem is that because programs are easy to run that is all we do. In fact, we are so program dependent, we don’t know how to do relational ministry. Relational ministry is time-consuming and challenging. It is not a one size fits all process. Jesus treated Peter much differently than he treated John. We have been so influenced by the world and it’s appetite for our time, that we no longer have time to do relational ministry.

Narrowing Our Focus

While there will always be good needs for programming within the Church, I would like to offer another perspective that I believe we need to regain. I believe as we climb out of this season of Covid, we need to narrow the focus of what we should do. I know that many will try to go back to what we have been doing, but I see that as a mistake particularly since Covid revealed the shallow depth of authentic faith held by many of our parishioners in the pews.

I believe we need to narrow our focus to the people currently sitting in the pews and not on the empty spaces between them. I believe that the Lord is calling His remnant together for a period of preparation, as the signs of the time indicate a rise of evil and darkness. I believe Jesus is calling those of us in leadership to retool for the fight yet to come. Those battles coming are not political, but Spiritual.

I believe we need to refocus the vision of those currently sitting in our pews with the words from St. Paul to the Ephesians. Stop reading this blog, grab your Bible, and look at Ephesians 5 verses 1-20.  In this exhortation you will see the words of wisdom that are relevant to today. Pray through them, you will see what I am speaking about.

Once you are done meditating on those words, you can see the exhortation in the rest of chapter five and six of Ephesians, particularly the Armor of God in chapter six. I believe that Pastors need to start providing this vision for the flock that has remained and encourage their need to put on this armor of God. Each disciple of Christ must be led to examine the state of their armor. Which armor do they have and wear? Which armor is weak or not existing? Then, like in any other military training, the older ones come alongside the younger ones (the age I refer to is not in years but spiritual maturity) and train them up to develop their armor.

We need to teach them how to allow the power of the Holy Spirit to flow through them so that they may each become “A FONT OF LIVING WATER.” When we start to do that, The Spirit will attract both those who have left, and new believers because what we will be living out is an authentic faith in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. I don’t know about you, but typically in my house, we clean and straighten up while no one is around. Well in these days of Covid, very few are around. Let us get our spiritual houses in order.