Holy Redeemer Lutheran Church
1948 The Alameda
San Jose, CA 95126
San Jose, CA 95126
Read Jeremiah 29: 11-13
[This is the first of 12 studies that will be coming to you in the newsletter over the next year. It is hoped that every congregation member will take the time to engage in these studies and that they might be the basis for informal conversations among members — and perhaps of formal discussions at some point in the future.]
What is going on in your congregation? Is your congregation alive in mission and ministry or just hanging on? Let’s expand upon this by using the six core values of the Discovering Hope process. What is happening in your congregation in the areas of prayer, worship, discipleship, evangelism or outreach, caring ministries, and leadership? (How does what you perceive on a congregational level mirror what is going on in your own faith journey? What do you think is the correlation?)
Attitude is all-important as you seek to discover hope in your ministry. Of course, you can be doing more. Every congregation could say this. But take time to celebrate all that is already happening in your congregation. With these ministries currently in place consider your glass to be half-full rather than half-empty and DISCOVER HOPE!
At East Andes Lutheran Church, one of the congregations included in the Discovering Hope study, a change in attitude was the beginning of new and exciting ministry. The old attitude was, “Look at our church located out here in the middle of the country. Who would ever want to come to church way out here?” Their glass seemed more than half-empty. The new attitude became, “Look at our church. We are located in the middle of the country, surrounded by many small towns. We could pull people from all of those towns and the surrounding community.”
With their glass half-full, change and growth began to happen. As East Lake Andes Lutheran reached out to minister to the lives of the people in those small towns, the people began to respond and accept invitations to become involved in the congregation.
What is your attitude toward doing ministry? What is the attitude of the majority of your members? Are you hopeful or doubtful. If it is doubtful, how can this change?
Another important ingredient for effective ministry is the balance in leadership between the pastor and lay leaders. Joining in partnership in mission is absolutely essential. How is this happening in your congregation? Are the pastor and lay leaders striving for the same goals? What are the goals and how do you work to help with reaching them?
Participation in leadership results from a climate of permission-giving. Permission-giving leads to shared leadership and a generous sharing of spiritual gifts. Has this climate been created in your congregation. Are leaders and members free to go off and develop their own ministries?
How can you be involved in supporting both pastoral leadership and lay leadership as your congregation moves forward?