There are many different ideas in the church today of what it takes to have a successful ministry.

• The Big Program Approach.  If you have big and creative programs, you will have a lot of people come to your church.

​Yes, I have seen special programs attract a lot of people, but most of the time these programs do not help a church grow spiritually or numerically.

• The Organization Approach.  If you have clear goals, the right kind of organization and detailed job descriptions, your church will be successful.

​There is nothing wrong with organization, but I have seen many churches in my 40 years of ministry who were highly organized and not successful at all.

• The “Felt Needs” Approach.  The focus of the church in everything they do is meeting people’s felt needs.  This is the approach of the world (advertising, politics, etc.).  When a church takes this approach, they are in danger of bypassing people’s real needs.

 

There are three biblical principles which many churches have forgotten today.

1. It is not strategy that brings success in ministry, but personal commitment.  Paul reminds us of the importance of personal commitment in Romans 12:1.  Total commitment involves our mind, emotions, and will.  There are many churches that have plans, organization, and great programs, but they continually have a difficult time finding members to fulfill those plans.  Men are looking for better methods.  God is looking for better men.
2. Where we minister does not determine the spiritual influence we have.  Amos 1:1; 7:14.  Amos was a shepherd and farmer from a small village called “Tekoa,” but God used him to impact his generation with the Word of God.  Jonathan Edwards was a pastor in Northampton, Massachusetts, and God used that church to start one of the greatest spiritual revivals in America.
3. God’s way of advancing His cause is through spiritual unity in a local church.  Philippians 2:2 urges the church to be “of the same mind, maintain the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.”  A church cannot have this unity if they decide things by opinion, experience, or tradition.  Only when a church looks to the Bible as their sole authority, and they rightly divide the Word of God (2 Timothy 2:15b), can they have this kind of unity.

There is no limit to what God can do with a church when the leaders and people follow these three principles.