Forming Faith Blog

Faith, Mission, and the Property Committee

Posted on July 30 2024 by Gregory Rawn

For the last three posts and this one, I am reflecting on a blog series called “What Is Faith Formation?” I wrote back in 2019. Partly, this is because it’s an important topic that is always relevant to our work here at Spirit & Truth Publishing. The other part is that I’m a bit buried in work, so a little respite from blog writing is a huge help. 😉

Everything your congregation does should further God’s mission, directed within the community (faith formation) or directed beyond the community (spreading God’s kingdom). How do the property committee and other indirect work do either of these?

A group of people at a committee meeting. What does the property committee have to do with the mission of the church?

This is the fourth and final blog post in my series What Is Faith Formation? This one is on faith formation and the mission of the Church. The previous posts covered:

You can read those to get the scope of my reflections (and you should!). But, for the sake of your busy schedule, the definition of faith formation I use is:

Every action, experience, or relationship that nurtures a transformative relationship of trust with the triune God and shapes the way we see and interact with God’s world.

Church and church

Let’s start with a little basic ecclesiology (theological thinking about the church). There is a difference between the Church (capital “C”) and a church (lowercase “c”). With a capital “C,” the Church is the mystical Body of Christ, a gathering of all believers from every time and place united by the Holy Spirit. With a lowercase “c,” a church is a local manifestation of this universal Church, a gathering of believers that meets at particular times and in particular spaces (often a dedicated church building). I often like to call the local church a congregation or faith community to make the difference clear.

This distinction is important. In the universal Church, God is in charge. Human members make up the Body of Christ, but it is Jesus’ body created and unified by the Holy Spirit. It is a spiritual reality.

A local church (congregation) is (hopefully) called together by the Holy Spirit, but it is a physical reality with human leadership where human actions determine what happens. Our goal (should be) to follow the Spirit’s guidance and match the mission of the Body of Christ, but this is not always true.

Why Aren’t We Here?

Before we get to the mission of the (local) church (and to the property committee, I promise it’s here), I want to get out of the way a few things that are not the mission of the Church.

  • We aren’t here merely to exist. God does not call us into becoming the Body of Christ to just exist. We are called to do. This doesn’t take away from God’s love for us that is completely independent of our actions or our need to rest in God. This is “sitting around and twiddling our thumbs.”
  • We aren’t here to perpetuate ourselves. Related to the first, when we invite people into our faith community, it isn’t just to keep the doors open and pay the bills. The invitation is not for us.
  • We aren’t here to wall ourselves off. We endanger God’s mission for us when we create an “us vs. them” attitude. This attitude is especially dangerous when we start thinking (even if we don’t say it) of us as righteous and them as sinners.

In summary, it’s not about us.

What Is the Mission of the Church?

It is my view that God calls us as a church to a single mission, though that mission has two aspects or two sides. Or, if you will, there is a double mission, though the two cannot be separated. It’s like the greatest commandment(s). Is there one or are there two? The answer is “yes.” It is impossible to fully love God without loving our neighbors. While it is possible to love and serve our neighbors without loving God (people do it all over the world), doing the second part without the first cuts us off from the source of all love.

God’s mission for us is to be the kingdom of God. Unlike the “here to exist” criticism I mention above, this “being” is an active verb. Here, being and acting are indivisible.

On the Inside

Inside the church community, being the kingdom means faith formation. We are becoming the kingdom (and we are always “becoming”) as we are formed in and by the relationship of trust and love with our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. This relationship transforms and empowers us to represent God to the world. This is the vertical dimension that some talk about, corresponding with the “loving God” part of the greatest commandment. It is training or discipleship.

On the Outside

Beyond the church community, being the kingdom means spreading God’s kingdom. As I’ve mentioned before, what it means to spread God’s kingdom is understood differently by different people in different theological traditions. But it can generally be agreed that the church exists not for itself but for the world. The world needs to experience God’s love. This is the horizontal dimension, corresponding to the “loving neighbor” part of the greatest commandment.

Inseparable

The reason I say that there is one mission with two aspects is that these two cannot be separated. The purpose of faith formation is to prepare us to spread God’s kingdom. And, in spreading God’s kingdom, our faith is formed. If we do faith formation without spreading the kingdom, then we become insular and our faith suffers. If we work on spreading the kingdom without faith formation, we risk misrepresenting God and disconnecting from the power of God’s transforming love. We can do good work and make the world a better and more just place, but we would not be spreading the kingdom of God. If we neglect both aspects, then we become a social club and do not deserve to be called a “church.”

The Mission of the Church and the Property Committee

The church exists for God’s mission. This means that everything your congregation does must serve this mission. Everything. If an action/committee/event does not support faith formation or spreading God’s kingdom, then it should be changed or shut down.

What does this mean for the property committee and everything else that isn’t direct ministry? Ask yourself: what would be the impact if this committee/group/job position was completely removed? I think you will find that the property committee, church administrator, custodians, etc. all help the direct ministry of the church happen in a safe, efficient manner. These behind-the-scenes actors fulfill important ministries that serve the mission of the church!

Restructure, Reorient, Coordinate

Now, this doesn’t mean that you can just check off the box for each thing your congregation does and move on. The next question is: how efficient is each individual component in supporting and doing God’s mission? And, since everything in your congregation should serve the mission, then everything needs to work together smoothly. Each piece might need to be restructured and reoriented. Everything needs to be interconnected in ways that make sense (e.g., the property committee needs to understand the changing needs of Christian education and CE leaders need to know what the committee is doing vis-à-vis their ministry).

Change

For your congregation to best follow God’s mission, the leadership and everyone else need to embrace one of the scariest words in the church: change. And, this is not a one-time deal. The congregation must keep changing, adapting to an ever-changing world. Sadly, I cannot just hand you an instruction book on the 20 changes your congregation needs to do God’s mission. It is pretty much entirely a process determined by your unique context.

How can your congregation grow and change to be about the work of being God’s kingdom?

God’s blessings on your faith-forming work!

Gregory Rawn (Publisher)

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