Empowerment through Engagement

One of the gifts of the small church is that everybody will have something to do. Unlike within a large congregation, there are no anonymous participants. A new face will be immediately visible. Members’ presence or absence will be noted. While there can be unwanted consequences within this circumstance (too much neighborliness, if you will—i.e., nosiness), the real positive result is that no one need feel left out, unnoticed, or ignored. Everyone will have a role to play, and everyone’s contribution is worthy and needed. 

In such a context there comes the possibility that all participants will gain a sense and an experience of a lived faith. Because one cannot just show up on Sunday for worship and leave (yes, that happens in small churches, but it is noticed), folks will be pushed to live what they believe as they take part in doing the ministries of the church. Someone will ask them to do something. That is almost guaranteed.

What such a model offers is that people can discover the gifts for ministry they have and actualize them in practice as they serve within the community of faith. In a small church, you may be asked to do things you never thought you could do—Sunday School teacher, VBS chairperson, chorister, etc. People will be asked to consider what they have to offer, and should they not think of anything, it is almost a certainty that someone will think of something for them! In turn, folks realize that God works with everyone, and that God blesses each person with something to offer to make the community fuller and richer (cf. 1 Cor. 12:7; Rom. 12:6; Eph. 4:7). The relational truth of our faith comes to the fore—i.e., God gifts each person with skills and abilities, but those will only be made complete as they mix, join, and connect with the skills and abilities of the other members. I make you whole; you make me whole.

The same becomes true within the smaller Presbytery—because there is a smaller pool of people from which to draw, more people from more churches become involved at the Mid-Council level. There comes the possibility of a wider percentage of member congregations having direct connection to the ministry of the presbytery which does nothing save make the presbytery more relevant to those congregations. Involvement equals meaning. Moreover, the churches themselves become vital players in the life of the presbytery as their contributions truly do make wider, deeper, and broader ministry possible for the presbytery. In a presbytery with a significant number of large churches (1000+ members), it often becomes the case that a handful of congregations effectively support and determine the course of a presbytery’s mission. In a presbytery where the largest church may be 500 members or less, by necessity, the mission of presbytery becomes much more shared among the congregations. 

Another role presbytery needs to play with regard to this issue is being a source of spiritual direction and discernment for church folk as they seek to learn what their gifts for ministry might be. This includes providing educational and experiential learning sessions for pastors or other congregational leaders to be employed in the local church equipping them for equipping the saints. Effectively, it is making the organic process in a local parish—long-time members ask newcomers to become involved, usually over coffee wherein the experienced disciple begins to review all the reasons why the newbie should be involved—part of institutional life. 

For example, the Council of Sacramento Presbytery recently discussed having one-day events aimed at the laity with a variety of workshops, gatherings of Ruling Elders engaged in similar ministry (e.g., stewardship or building & grounds) to share ideas, experiences, and tools. It is a gathering of wisdom as much as a school. Many presbyteries do leadership training days, but often a presbytery committee will develop a slate of workshops with no real input from the congregations as to what is needed. This approach I am suggesting starts with some kind of information gathering presbytery meeting like we had for Sacramento wherein the meeting was primarily a chance for all attendees to share in visioning based on what was happening at their churches and how the presbytery could directly engage with them in that work. Then the training day’s schedule of workshops should flow directly from their input; hence, making it immediately relevant to the life of the churches.

Again, this empowers folks because they see their suggestions and ideas taken seriously and as extremely relevant. That, in turn, deepens the sense of connection to a Mid-Council. They see me; they hear me; and, maybe, they are actually we. It also empowers people because the institution treats them as valuable human beings, not simply statistics to be ordered and managed. They become vital implements of transformation and transcendence as they help reform the institution into being a community of faith, emphasis on community. 

Finally, empowered people are invested people. If we have stake in something, we will do all we can to see it through to fruition. If that entity takes us seriously, then we are far more likely to work for its success. Beyond that, though, this investment is not so much about self-actualization as it is about discipleship. The more folks participate in the life and ministry of the church, the more deeply engaged becomes faith. We actually begin to see God with us in each moment and in each work. The more we see that reality, the more closely we become the Kingdom on earth.