WHAT MAKES SIERRA TICK, Part #4

Our Philosophy of Ministry
by Paul Null, Former Teaching Pastor

CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT FOR MINISTRY

Several people, new to the ministry of Sierra Community Church, have remarked to me that they can sense the presence of Jesus when they walk through the doors into our Worship Services. I can't think of a higher compliment than that. That's what we should be all about, ministering Jesus to everyone who comes in contact with Sierra's ministry. Although this sense of God's presence is not something we can legislate or program into our ministry it is something we can stimulate by emphasizing biblical priorities as a congregation and evaluate our efforts by the same criteria. At Sierra our basic commitment is to contribute to creating an environment wherein people feel accepted, loved and are able to meet God through the witness of his people. Borrowing from Sonlife Ministries, a ministry directed to making disciples of young people, we have identified six foundational goals by which we regularly evaluate our contribution to maintaining the presence of Christ among us.

Create an atmosphere of love

We ask ourselves are we doing everything within our power to contribute to an environment of love acceptance and willingness to reach out to others?

Build relationships through personal contacts

We ask ourselves, are we spending personal time with other members of Christ's body , including new people that God brings across our path outside of the regular meetings of the church?

Contribute to a healthy church image

We ask ourselves, are we communicating our calling to a higher cause in what we do and say about our ministry?

Communicate a proper concept of Christ

We ask ourselves, are we taking every opportunity to communicate clearly who Jesus is and what he has done for us?

Build a strong prayer foundation

We ask ourselves, are we making time in the busyness of ministry and church life to communicate our praise, thanksgiving and needs with our Creator?

Teach the Word of God

We ask ourselves, are we contributing to the spiritual growth of believers by regularly teaching the Word of God?

We have found these six foundational goals to be helpful, not only for evaluating church related ministry but also for measuring the effectiveness of the efforts of our individual and family lives. We believe that by regularly coming back to these guidelines we can more effectively minister Jesus to everyone who steps through our doors.

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