One of the things COVID revealed to us at Faith Family Church was something we probably would not have discovered as quickly under normal circumstances. When people could no longer gather in the building, we began seeing which areas of our church were truly connected.
Some ministry teams stayed engaged remarkably well. Leaders called people, sent texts, used FaceTime and Zoom, and found creative ways to maintain relationships. Other areas struggled more. The difference was not necessarily talent or commitment. In many cases, it was connection.
That season taught us an important lesson: a healthy church cannot simply be good at getting things done. We also have to build environments where people are connected, cared for, growing, and enjoying serving together.
That leads to a question I believe every church should ask: Are the ministry environments we lead merely easygoing, or are people executing well and with great enjoyment?
We need both effectiveness and enjoyment. You can have a team that enjoys being together but accomplishes very little. You can also have a highly productive team that nobody enjoys being around. Neither represents the kind of healthy ministry culture we should be building.
Give People Something Worth Belonging To
At Faith Family Church, our vision is simple: Celebrate God and Champion People. But a phrase on a wall means very little if people do not understand what it looks like in everyday ministry.
That is why we developed four clear expressions of our mission: know God, find life, build friendships, and make a difference.
We want people to know God personally, not simply know about Him. We want them to find the abundant life Jesus promised and experience freedom from what has held them back. We want them to build meaningful friendships because relationships have tremendous influence over our future. Finally, we want every person to discover that God has created them to make a difference.
Those four ideas help us evaluate whether we are actually accomplishing our mission.
It is easy for churches to become focused on activity. We can fill calendars, hold services, organize programs, and keep volunteers busy. But the Great Commission requires more than activity. We have to ask whether people are actually becoming disciples.
Let the Mission Reach Every Ministry
Vision cannot belong only to the lead pastor. Every ministry leader needs to ask what God wants to accomplish through the people and responsibilities entrusted to them.
Pastor Tamara Graff is a great example of this. She has a deep passion for pioneer missionaries serving among some of the least-reached people in the world. She also carries a tremendous burden for young girls caught in devastating circumstances and wants to see them rescued, introduced to Jesus, educated, and given opportunities for a different future.
That passion affects the way she leads missions because she is not simply managing a department. She sees people.
That is what happens when vision becomes personal. Children’s ministry stops being about filling volunteer positions and becomes about shaping the next generation. Small groups stop being another program and become places where people find the relationships they need. Outreach stops being an event and becomes an opportunity to introduce someone to Jesus.
When people understand the why behind what they are doing, execution changes.
Celebrate the Stories
One of the ways we keep that mission alive is by celebrating stories of transformation.
During the webinar, we shared the story of a man named Stephen. Four years earlier, doctors had essentially given him a death sentence because of cirrhosis of the liver. He had turned to alcohol because he did not want to face his problems, and eventually addiction began drowning his life.
A friend told him about Faith Family Church. Stephen said that when he walked through the doors, he felt at home. He eventually surrendered his life to God, discovered what baptism represented, and decided he wanted to take that step.
His testimony was beautifully simple: “He set me free. He redeemed me and now I live.”
On the Sunday we shared his story, we baptized 51 people. It took two worship songs to baptize everyone in the 11 o’clock service, and our church celebrated what God was doing.
Those stories remind everyone why we do what we do.
You do not need sophisticated production equipment to celebrate changed lives. Interview someone. Let them share their testimony. Tell the story from the platform. Give people an opportunity to rejoice together. Revelation tells us that we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. Stories help turn vision from something people hear into something they can see.
What Is Your Church Communicating?
Vision is communicated in more ways than sermons. I believe there are at least three places we should pay attention to: the sign, the stage, and special meetings.
By “sign,” I mean everything people experience when they encounter your church. What does the campus communicate before anyone says a word? Are the grounds cared for? Is the facility welcoming? Can people understand where to go? Excellence sends a message.
The stage gives us another opportunity to continually remind people what God is doing and where we are going. At Faith Family Church, we intentionally use moments during our services to cast vision and celebrate what God is accomplishing.
Then there are special meetings where leaders can hear the vision more deeply. We use gatherings such as Heart for the House and our Leadership Academy to invest in people who are carrying responsibility. If leaders understand the heart behind the mission, they can reproduce it in others.
After more than 35 years of ministry, I am convinced that seeing your church with fresh eyes is never finished. Every season brings another area God wants to strengthen.
Look again at your church, your team, and the people God has entrusted to you. Ask whether people are simply attending or truly engaging, whether volunteers are merely completing tasks or growing into leaders, and whether your ministry environments are producing both excellence and joy.
Then give God room to work on you before asking Him to work through you. The goal is not simply a busier church or a more polished ministry. The goal is a community where people know God, find life, build friendships, make a difference, and become living stories of what Jesus can do.
Fresh eyes help us see what needs to change, but a fresh move of the Holy Spirit gives us the courage and power to change it.
