Our desire at Living Way Church is to offer quality pastoral care for every person God brings to be part of our fellowship.Of course we want this care to be done by spiritually mature, capable, trained and anointed leaders who are gifted to pastor and encourage the flock. Typically, the work of shepherding the church is often viewed as the sole responsibility of the paid pastoral staff. However, one person can only personally pastor twenty to thirty people effectively; Living Way is too large for the paid pastoral staff to "pastor" all the people. What is the solution? In the Bible, a system was introduced that allowed Moses to more effectively lead the people of Israel. We see in Exodus 18 that Moses was exhausted from working morning until evening ministering to the people and assisting them in discerning the will of God. Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, told him, "What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone" (Exodus 18:17-18). What this passage of Scripture teaches is that a "one-man-show" eventually harms both the shepherd and the sheep. Jethro then instructed Moses to pastor the people through other leaders; "Select capable men from all the people - men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain - and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens" (Exodus 18:21). All these men functioned as "pastors," but each had a different measure of faith and responsibility.We are using this same principle at Living Way to ensure that everyone has capable, trained leaders available to minister to them. Although the senior pastor maintains an overall responsibility for each and every member of the congregation and is available for every member, a foundational aspect of this church's vision is that the senior pastor "pastors" the church through leaders he trains and appoints. These leaders pastor our small groups and are the people responsible for the day-to-day needs of the men and women in their group. Together with the senior pastor and the eldership, Living Way's small group leaders play a vital role in the pastoral care and oversight of this congregation. Small Groups play a very important role at Living Way. As important and essential as it is to be involved in the Sunday morning celebration service, attendance in that service alone does not allow for the development of relationships and the mutual encouragement necessary for full Christian growth and equipping to take place. We have found that very important elements of church life take place primarily within the context of our small group ministry. Meeting together with the shared goal of mutual Christian edification and fellowship, our small groups foster love, promote unity, strengthen the church, and nurture each member's spiritual gift and calling. Through outreach and service to the community, our small groups are also a primary vehicle to effectively communicate the vision and values of Living Way Church. |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 19 March 2008 ) |
