WHO or WHAT?

What is your church known for?

If our church was known for the talking head up front then we would soon be in trouble.

Shortly the church I'm working for will embark on the daunting task of calling a new minister. The job will be understandably drawn out, but probably not too painful, since we are a relatively healthy church in a wealthy part of Sydney.

But for many churches the undertaking would be much more difficult. Some communities of faith can't financially afford to pay for a minister. Some rural communities desperately struggle to find a minister who is willing to travel "outback."

In my denomination, having a full time minister is quite a luxury. I remember a figure bandied around that said that almost 50% of congregations are without a full time Minster of the Word.

I asked my initial question with this "fact" in mind. Most churches do not have an identifiable minister attached to them. Of those who do, most senior ministers will only be around for a set period of time (somewhere around a decade, 15 years max).

Perhaps churches shouldn't be known for the minister. Churches should instead strive to be known for WHAT THEY DO in the community, not WHO is leading their worship/preaching the sermon/leading the youth group (gasp!) on any given week.