"WHEREVER TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED TOGETHER ...."

In the spring of 1999, the Project 2000 Phase Two Task Force presented the concept of "ministry teams" to the congregation. They envisioned small communities of support and empowerment, committed to specific and carefully focused ministries, which would meet regularly to integrate members' inner spiritual journeys with their outer journeys in service to the church and the world. 

The congregation found this idea to be intriguing, a little scary as to whether the priority work of the church would really get done, promising as a way to avoid the burnout of church leaders, and hopeful that it might enable us to truly work out of our Sacred Center and embrace our full ministry as the People of God. 

What Is a Ministry Team? 

Click here for a current list of our Ministry Teams.

A ministry team is a small group of Christians who feel called to a common ministry and who know that they need each other to faithfully carry it out. Each person brings his or her own unique talents and perspectives (Corinthians12) which, blended together, shape their response to Christ's call to minister. 

A ministry team is founded on the conviction that all Christians are called by Christ to ministry and that most of our ministry takes place, not in the church, but in our daily lives. It assumes that we need support and encouragement to be faithful in our various ministries. It also assumes that the ministries of the organized church need to illumine our ministries in our various workplaces. Thus, when a group of Deacons gather to plan Sunday morning worship they do so with a consciousness that our Sunday worship, if it is Christian, should help discover Christ's presence throughout the week.

The vision statement written by the Phase 2 Task Force captures this well: "We seek a church that is more than a geographical place, more than a gathering of people, more than a program and organization. We seek a sacred center, a sense of Sabbath, a community that empowers us for our daily ministries." This statement reflects a growing hunger among our members to live out of a deep and passionate faith in Christ as we strive to be faithful in our daily lives and workplaces. With the very real pressures of modern life and the countless demands upon our time, energy and resources, it s essential that our efforts are clearly and faithfully focused. More than ever, we need to experience the support of others in addressing the challenges that face us. We do not want to go it alone. We need each other, and we yearn to connect our inner spiritual journey with our outer journey in service to God's world. We believe the two - the inner and outer journey - are inextricably linked together but we need help in making and illumining that connection. We also don't want to spin our wheels and expend precious energy in tasks that somehow do not support this happening.

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What Do We Mean by "Ministry"?

Ministry is a special word within the Christian church. It comes from the Greek word "diaconos" (from which we get our word "deacon") meaning "one who serves". Contrary to popular assumption it does not refer primarily to the special office of the ordained clergy. The New Testament is quite clear about this. Ministry is an act undertaken in the name of Christ. It is more than simply doing good. Ministry is something that Christ does in us, through us and with us. Therefore the "ministry of the laity" describes those works of service performed by Christians in the Church and in the larger society with a conscious understanding that Christ is Lord. Those works of service the New Testament called "ministry' could include the lawyer's defense of the accused, the business person's management of resources ,the volunteer's work in a Red Cross Blood Bank, the parent's care of a child, the teacher's motivation of a student, the politician's exercise of the public trust, the nurse's care for the sick and dying, as well as the proclamation of the Word, the calling forth of gifts and the confirmation of the ministries of the whole people of God.

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What Are The Unique Marks of a Ministry Team?

There are several. A ministry team would: 

	Be composed of members who genuinely feel called to that ministry.
	Begin its meeting time together with members centering themselves in scripture and prayer, briefly sharing what is happening in their lives outside this specific ministry before focusing on the work at hand.
	Support its members by nurturing both their inner and outer journeys.
	Understand itself to be working on behalf of the whole body of the church and thus would take particular pains to keep others informed of what they are doing; frequently seeking feedback from the congregation and other ministry teams to ensure the faithfulness of their ministry.
	Keep an empty chair to remind the team that it is open to and welcomes Christ and others.
	Continually measures the importance of its work by how that work contributes to a greater awareness of member's weekday ministry.