Moving to Missional Part I: 3 Steps To Develop A Culture of Service

Having a missional culture established through instilling it, repeating it, and celebrating it will provoke members to love and good deeds.

Why is it that churches often get stuck and turn inward, and what can be done to reverse this inwardly-focused approach?

Often times, as a church grows larger (or even just older) it tends to focus on maintaining and servicing what is already there. Internal ministries overwhelm outward mission. Any church can be overwhelmed with by this temptation.

Yet, many places in Scripture point to the church as a body of servants—being used by God to minister to one another and to a hurting worls. For example, 1 Peter 4:10 says, "Based on the gift each one has received, use it to serve others, as good managers of the varied grace of God" (HCSB).

The key phrase here is "each one." Each and every church member is to serve others. Most of the time we see verses like this it is to serve one another inside the body, but there are so many verses about the poor and hurting that we know many are called to serve beyond the body. (I like to say that we can serve "in, through, or beyond" our local church.)

But unfortunately, there is a huge chasm between this passage and our practice.

According to the research from the book I co-authored with Thom Rainer, Transformational Church, the majority of people in the majority of churches are unengaged in meaningful ministry and mission. They come for the show—and that might be a contemporary church, traditional, liturgical, etc. since the numbers did not show a difference—but they don't stay for the service.

So, how can we avoid having a church full of customers rather than a church full of co-laborers in the Gospel?We develop a culture and implement a structure.

Churches need a culture that encourages and a structure that enables people to move from passivity to activity, from being passive spectators to active participants in the mission of God.

Today, I want to focus on developing the culture. Here are three steps to develop a service mindset culture: instill it, repeat it, and celebrate it. Keep reading