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Having been the lead pastor at the same church for nine years and the youth minister for about five years prior to becoming the pastor, I had reached a place of discouragement. We had seen some significant growth and purchased a different building. With that move, the immediate growth was evident, and now I was experiencing the pressure from some individuals to begin another project for building or buying.
Feelings of inadequacy, coupled with a perceived need to perform, drove me to my knees. It was in that moment that the Spirit of God spoke clearly to my heart. I know that I heard the still, small voice instruct me to focus on “building people, not buildings.” With that, a great burden lifted, encouragement flooded my soul, and a fresh vision began to develop.
As I processed what I felt God speaking to me, I was reminded of the scripture in Acts 17:24 that tells us clearly that God doesn’t “dwell in buildings.” It is interesting that when most people hear or see the word church, we think first of a building. In fact, sadly, it seems today many individuals are more concerned with buildings than they are with people! I am convinced that there can be strong local churches that operate out of facilities that seemingly “aren’t much to speak of.” I also believe that there can be strong local churches that have no building at all. Whether you are in agreement with me on this or not, consider this: if a local church is going to be strong, it must be focused on people, not buildings.
After I felt the Lord speak, I shared this word with our leadership team, and it was well-received. Since that time, we have tried to promote that a strong local church focuses on building people. At Bethesda, this is done as much outside of the church’s facility as it is within our walls. New ministries have grown through that word from the Lord. Adopt-a-block, a local church-operated food bank, a weekly bus ministry to the community shelter and a local substance abuse center, and an outreach to the state Girl School are just a few of the ways we have found as avenues to build people. Adopt-a-block of Sheridan is a ministry in which faithful support is offered to a low-income housing unit and a mobile home court weekly.
We try to meet the needs of the people there both spiritually and physically. We have provided for the needs and wants of individuals and families. From diapers and milk to dog food and light bulbs, as well as putting a new roof on one of the mobile homes, we desire to assist these folks in every way that we can. We have also been able to pray with these folks on many occasions.
Some of the people that we are investing in may never attend our local church, but we are not concerned with that. Church attendance is not our goal. We believe that through investing in the lives of these precious people, we are helping them to see their worth to our loving God. By taking the church to them, we are assisting them in growing into the people that God has destined for them to become.
We are blessed to have a facility from which to minister. For any first-time guests who do come through our doors, we desire that from the moment they drive into our parking lot until the time they drive away they will have a meaningful worship experience with our church family in every way. From greeters assisting attendees with umbrellas during the rain and snow to follow-up gifts being taken to the homes of first-time guests, we want to add value to those whom God sends to us. Our guests may never return, and we are okay with that. Our focus is not to get them to return; our focus is to help them understand how much they are valued by our God!
If someone chooses to return to our church family, we shift to making disciples of them. We offer a Discipleship Track that has something for everyone. From our First Steps curriculum to our small group ministries, our hope is to encourage consistent Christian growth in those whom God entrusts to us. We have intentionally designed a plan that will assist everyone in becoming all that God wants them to be.
Our Discipleship Track begins with basic Bible truths, then transitions into a more in-depth spiritual growth course, and continues on through Leadership Development. We desire that our family know why they believe what they believe. We desire that each one would identify the gifting of God that is upon their lives and then, through the ministry of the small groups and outreach efforts, we purposefully provide opportunities for them to be used in their gifting.
It has been said that there are two main reasons that people leave churches—they feel they have no friends, and their need for purpose has never been met. This obviously means that they haven’t had a meaningful connection with anyone in the church, and they do not feel valued. This is why an emphasis on building people is so effective. A healthy discipleship ministry can help to meet these two great needs of individuals. We have found that new individuals are effectively assimilated into our church family, and they are better cared for when they get connected to one of our small groups.
When we can help those whom God sends us by providing a caring and safe environment in which to grow and then offer them opportunities to use their gifts, then we have found that we are helping to build people. Sometimes, God only leaves His people with us for a short season. Sometimes, we have individuals who are with us much longer. Either way, we want to invest in them while God allows them to be a part of our family. At Bethesda, we aren’t trying to “keep people,” we are trying to “grow them” and then let God place them wherever He desires for them to be!
Believe me, it is easy to slip back into the mindset that a strong local church must have a nice facility, lots of people, and a lot of money. We try to make it a priority to speak often of the vision of building people. From the pulpit, to the children’s ministries, to the small group leader in the home and into every ministry, we must continually remind ourselves and those we serve that we are about growing people.
We are not a perfect church. We are not a large church. We are a church that can and will get better. We don’t have all of the answers, but we are learning this—God values people, not buildings. With this vision at the core of our local church, we have seen God prove to us time and time again that when we value what He values and invest in what He invests in, then He will faithfully give us what we need to take care of it.
Scott Lee
Sheridan, Wyoming
