What keeps us going?
What keeps us going when the work of church life is difficult?
Church development begins in our relationship with Jesus.
What keeps us going when the work of church life becomes difficult? We may feel responsibility for a church community, concern about finances, or a desire to see more people join us. Those responsibilities can feel overwhelming, and they can also leave us tired if those things themselves become the reason for what we do.
In the early NCD material I’ve been reconnecting with, I was reminded that spiritual momentum begins with devotion to Jesus and enthusiasm for his work. That brings us back to the relationship underneath church development of any kind.
In John 15:9–12, Jesus calls his disciples to remain in his love and to love one another. Our actions ought to grow from that relationship. The church’s purpose is to worship God, and its work is sustained by love for the one we follow.
This gives us a good question to ask before we begin the next thing:
What is motivating us?
A church can be enthusiastic about a survey, a new approach or a hoped-for ministry outcome. NCD can help us understand and act, but no tool supplies the devotion that sustains faithful participation.
For an individual disciple, this can be freeing. Prayer and service are ways of responding to Christ’s love. However, when they become tasks through which we try to prove our worth, even good practices can lose their meaning.
A faithful step this week:
Before a meeting, ministry task or time of prayer, pause and name why you are doing it. Ask Jesus to renew the love underneath that work.
Also consider whether there is something in the way you work that needs to change.
Invite a trusted person to reflect with you. What helps each of you stay connected to Jesus? Forward this note if it would open a useful conversation.
Next week we’ll explore why “all by itself” growth still involves our participation.
Shane Watson
NCD Canada
Build Spiritual Momentum
“People cannot be kept motivated for church development when their motivation is anything other than devotion to Jesus and His work…
..natural church development is not a strategy to create spiritual momentum. It comes where spiritual momentum already exists and shows practical steps to attract more and more people.”
- Christian Schwarz