So there’s something like 5 big reasons or purposes behind everything we do in ministry… But chances are you have a bent towards 2 or maybe 3 of them. That is, you agree with all the big purposes, you love them, but you personally find yourself having energy to give to a few of them over and above the other ones.
On the other hand, there’s really just too much to do for all of the purposes. You can’t fit them all into a working week… Not just in terms of time, but in terms of focus. Mental focus. Even the above average minister just can’t keep a handle on how all those big things are going.
What happens then?
You end up with a “Congregational Pastor” who can only really focus on 2 or 3 big purposes. They get all the attention, all the effort, and the other purposes just trail along behind.
We see this a lot don’t we? One church is doing great things evangelistically, but you start to have concerns about their theological convictions and the type of people they let lead groups. Another church is great at welcoming people and expressing deep Christian fellowship, but they just struggle to be evangelistic or really skill people up into ministry roles. Another church does their Sunday meetings and singing really well, but they leave people feeling shallow and disconnected.
Staffing for purposes just says; we value all the things… We want to be a church that at least tries to be all these good things and develop in all thee good ways… So we appoint staff and volunteers to take responsibility for those things. We invite them to focus on those things, so as a team, and as a family, we do them all well.