Focusing on the “People” vs the “Church”

Surely, you remember the little entertaining maneuver that you did as a child, where you clasped your hands and said, “Here is the church, here is the steeple, look inside and see all the people.” The church, the steeple, and at least ten people were all illustrated with the same two little hands.

The truth is that we are more effective in ministry when we focus on the people in the church, rather than the 30,000 foot view of the whole entity where we work and minister. In this segment, we gain fresh perspective with the reminder that churches consist of people, and it is the people who make the church what it is. Churches cannot think, churches cannot speak, churches cannot love. But people can think, people can speak, and people can love.

Some days it is much easier just to pastor the church than to love the people. We are ready to celebrate the success of the church, but sometimes forget to realize that the people are great assets, loved by God. And we may be slow to see that our gang of volunteers is comprised of enthusiastic Eric, amiable Annabelle, and Ryan the roaring lion. The church has a name, but its identity is formed by the actions and attitudes of people. Each person has successes and needs, as well as problems and relationships. When things are going well, we hear that the church is booming, but when eighteen people are needing us to return their phone calls, we may feel like the church is exhausting.

This video presents four must-see ideas that are transformational in renewing the vision of our calling as pastors and church leaders. It shows us that focusing on “people” versus the “church” is a focus that aligns our hearts with the heart of God.