Mobile Attendees: Hoppers, Shoppers and Helping them Go Where They Ought to – Part Three

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Be Equipped for the Task at Hand and for Those in Need of Direction

Know and be resolute concerning the “VVMP” of your ministry. What I call the “VVMP” of your ministry is an acronym for vision, values, mission and philosophy. These are the criteria by which we can help shoppers know whether or not our churches are a fit for them. Not to appeal to any consumerism in them, but in making your church’s VVMP clear to them, you will help them answer the critical question, “Is the Spirit of God trying to connect me here or elsewhere?”

Vision

What has Father God clearly posited in you by the Holy Spirit concerning the picture of His desired and preferable future for your ministry? The answer to that question defines the vision God has called you to pursue (Habakkuk 2:1-4) Remember: if you’re not clear on what God’s vision is for your ministry, someone else will be all too happy to define it for you... especially hoppers and shoppers.

I’ve heard ministers object to leading churches from a sense of vision. The primary opinion is that it seems unspiritual and rather business-like. Please allow me to digress from the topic momentarily and address this specifically. Here’s the difference between the ministry and secular business world: businesses exist to separate people from their money; churches exist to separate people from their sins.

In order to put a smile on patrons’ faces in the endeavor of lucre-separation, businesses respond to the fickle nature of free markets; to potential customers’ whims; to trends in consumers’ spending preferences all while touting that theirs is the best service or are the best products. Ministries – who succumb to thinking that the primary objective is numerical growth, thus, operating by the same principles as secular business - are easily blown about by winds of strange doctrine or ministry fads or capricious, lustful personalities. Churches should exist to serve God FIRST through obedience to His commands and to pursue His ministry vision SECOND. And if we resist leading from a platform of vision, be prepared for an arduous and certainly fruitless time leading others in a ministry ditch (or “rut”, whichever one prefers to call it). Certainly, the alternative to visionary leadership isn’t healthy (Proverbs 29:18).

Receive God’s vision; be obedient to pursue God’s vision; let ministry be defined by God’s vision; let God’s vision be the guardrails by which your ministry safely and confidently travels. By vision, we can explain where it is we are heading in ministry so that virtuous shoppers can prayerfully consider whether ours is the ministry they should participate in or not.

Values

To the next consideration: values. What are God’s commissions made most manifest in your church life, or, more pointedly, if one were to audit your church calendar and checkbook, what would one be able to say you value most… foreign missions? Local missions? Discipleship? Worship? Healthy small group ministry? Excellent children’s and/or youth ministry? Strong pulpit/teaching ministry?

Whatever they are, are you and your leadership team resolute about them? If not, look out because, like vision, someone will come along and demand to define, add and/or subtract from that list.

Whether they are hoppers or shoppers, identifying and being stanch about your ministry’s core values will help guide them in or along. In fact, it can be a revelatory exercise to Christians concerning how ministry is arranged and how they can take greater ownership and why. All good stuff!

If sojourning folk do not share your values, I implore you: direct them elsewhere you think they might be a better fit. If they embrace your church’s values, still move slowly with them. Vision and values is not the end of the story; not by a long shot.

Mission

This is closely related to vision because it pertains to God’s destiny for your church; destiny being defined by the milestones of His ordained achievements (souls saved, transformed lives, leaders raised, missionaries sent, effective and productive programming, etc.) It is also closely related to what model you use for ministry, as model is the vehicle by which your church travels toward her destiny.

Mission answers three questions: 1) Who are we as a church? 2) Where are we going? 3) How are going to get there?

Here’s an example of a clear mission statement: “Anywho Open Bible Church is a devoted gathering of Christians sharing the life of God in south central X County through vibrant home-based ministry!” There are 25 empowering words, answering three vital questions that help address whether or not shoppers should select your church as their home.

What if they don’t want to be devoted Christians? Then they likely will not enjoy nor endure encouragement toward such. What if they don’t want to share the life of God with others in south central X County? Then they will not likely engage with the bulk of the church’s people who do, making for a lonely feeling (I will withhold commentary concerning the spiritual pulse of those disinterested in sharing the life of God with others). What if they do not want home-based ministry but, rather, want a larger brick-and-mortar gathering place? Well, then, isn’t the answer to whether or not they belong at your church, or another, obvious?

Mission is vital to helping shoppers settle on a permanent church home.

Philosophy

This consideration relates to what your and your church’s belief the purpose of the church is. Please do not underestimate the vitality of this point! It deals with subtleties, and disparate subtleties between jazzed-up shoppers who come to your church and love your vision, values and mission may not agree enough with your philosophy to remain as satisfied members and, thus, sets everyone up for unnecessary heartache down the road. Disparate subtleties are surprises that will likely leave you agreeing with the old adage, “No one likes surprises!”

Just as mission, vision and values relate, so does ministry philosophy and the first three are an indication of philosophy. Let me put it this way: perceptive shoppers should long be picking on up on what your church’s purpose is by virtue of her vision, values and mission; however, being perceptive isn’t so common, and even perceptive people need help putting all the pieces together to solve this church-selection puzzle.

Is the purpose of your church to be a hospital or a gymnasium; a place of “healing” or a place of “building up” spiritual muscles for ministry? Is the primary purpose of your church marked by salvation of lost souls or discipleship of those found? And while it may seem natural to say, “Shouldn’t every church be both?” it is equally fair to say that many are marked by either and not both. Bill Hybels, pastor of the 20,000+ member Willow Creek Community Church, made an astounding confession a few years back, essentially stating that an audit of the ministry proved two things: they succeeded at attracting a crowd, but failed miserably to make any disciples.

So, when it comes down to philosophy is yours a seeker-sensitive or seeker-focused or discipleship-oriented church?

A pertinent issue to ministry philosophy is style of ministry (some experts would say this relates better to mission, but, hey, it’s my article and I’ll cry if I want to). Perhaps an even better word would be flavor. Is yours a contemporary-styled church… informal in her liturgy with a casual atmosphere and modern musical approach? Or is it traditional… ceremonial in her liturgy with a formal mood and old-fashioned musical orientation? Neither is right or wrong. The issue is in what direction has God called the ministry? Let’s be frank: it is hard to see the cultural relevance of a worship service with fog machines, laser lights and alternative music in a Sun City West, AZ church but it would probably go over well in one located in North Hollywood, CA.

Knowing and being resolute about your ministry philosophy assists shoppers in knowing whether or not they are a fit for your church.

And finally…

If you’re not already doing so, engage with the other ministers in your area. I am thoroughly impressed with Larry Jacobsen, pastor of Friendship Community Church, Cheyenne, WY. One of the things that helped make the most of his 34 years ministering there is his intentional approach to relationships with fellow pastors. I’m convinced there is not a minister with any longevity he does not know in a 50-mile radius… a helpful thing when it comes to a host of ministry issues and this is one of the biggest!

When shoppers or hoppers come your way, ask them where they came from and within the week find out why. I learned this from Les Potts, pastor of Open Bible Christian Center, Rapid City, SD, and I encourage you to develop a personal (or official!) policy for investigating this. Consider doing this with all guests who attend one of your church gatherings:

1) After introductions, ask them if they are from the same town as the church.

2) If they answer affirmatively, casually ask if they have a home church. If they say they are from out of town welcome them as guests to enjoy their visit. If they return to another meeting, approach them as if they are from your own town.

3) If indicating they have a home church, make mental note for follow-up with them later in the week.

4) When following up on them as guests, ask them frankly or diplomatically why they left their prior church.

5) Call the pastor of that church and query him or her as to the situation and ask what they prefer you to do with the sojourners (i.e., keep ‘em or send ‘em back?)

6) Develop a “next” strategy with regard to welcoming them to stay or helping them go back and resolve their issues or move them along.

I recollect a time when a family visited our church one Sunday and I followed my prescribed course. When executing #5, I distinctly recall the pastor telling me what a wonderful family this was. I asked him point-blank, “Brother, what do you want me to do with them: encourage them to go back or follow-up on them wholeheartedly?”

He replied, “Pursue them wholeheartedly, Chuck. Until we get some things straightened out here in our church, I’m afraid we’re going to continue losing precious people like these. I would just as soon not lose them out of the kingdom by having them in a healthy church like yours.” In saying this, he revealed and defined the sort of questions I needed to ask if we were to move forward with this family.

Having a healthy relationship with other ministers facilitates a level of candor helpful to you, them and the local church community with the hopper and shopper question. It also orients you to who they and their churches are with regard to their “VVMP” and whether any of their sojourning folks will be a fit in God’s call upon you or where you can point them next. And finally, paying heed to this matter of hoppers and shoppers builds trust, confidence and credibility with other pastors in your community.

Be disciplined in and by these considerations as it is one of many avenues for keeping your ministerial acumen and effectiveness honed to a finer edge. I have found that living with the pain of discipline beats the daylights out of living with the pain of regret.