By Dr. Pete Menconi
Outreach Pastor, Greenwood Community Church
Greenwood Village, Colorado

If everyone in the church effortlessly found his place and did his part to make church ministry successful, a pastor’s job would be a lot easier. But that is not the way it works. Church ministry is, in fact, a messy endeavor that can be one of the most challenging anyone can undertake. Unlike business in which paychecks can be leveraged to get the desired responses and behaviors, the church is predominantly a volunteer organization with different motives and motivations.

The primary motivation to be involved in church ministry should come from one's desire to follow Jesus Christ. Scripture repeatedly reminds us that the church is the body of Christ with Jesus as the head. And the local church is just one small part of a much bigger whole and reality: the kingdom of God. Without a kingdom perspective a local church runs the risk of becoming a mutual admiration society. Simply put, the church is not about us—not the pastor, not you, not the congregation, not the denomination.

The Herschbergers
Susan & Glenn