Ministry Outside the Congregation

When my congregation grants me freedom to minister outside our church, they are giving me, my gifts, and even some of themselves to others.
—Maxie Dunnam

You receive a phone call one afternoon: “Pastor, a group of us in the community have become increasingly troubled about child abuse. A number of leaders in the religious and social service communities are gathering this Thursday night to see what we can do to help. Your colleague at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church suggested you might want to join us. Do you think you can?”

You pause, not knowing what to say, although you’re already feeling guilty. In milliseconds a number of concerns cross your mind: Is this a problem I’m qualified to tackle? Do I have the time? My preaching has been suffering, and I’ve already decided to spend more time on it. But I’d hate to say no to such a genuine need. Besides, wouldn’t this be a great opportunity to represent the church in the community? There may be some evangelistic opportunities, as well. Then again, my schedule is loaded.

You finally tell the caller that you’ll be happy to come to the organizing meeting, but you’re not sure what you’ll be able to do after that. You realize, however, that you’ve just postponed your decision and that your questions have yet to be resolved.

Pastors are regularly presented with opportunities for ministry outside their congregations, certainly more opportunities than they can say yes to: parachurch board membership, denominational committee work, writing and speaking opportunities—the list goes on.

Sometimes ministry outside the congregation seems like a distraction; at other times it feels like a blessing. In deciding whether and how to take such opportunities, here are some things I keep in mind.

The Value of Outside Ministry

When a pastor ministers outside the congregation, the church loses his or her time and availability. The person who substitutes in the pulpit may be less effective. An emergency may not receive immediate attention. But in my mind, these drawbacks are outweighed by five benefits.

1. It helps the local church. Especially in a growing and thriving church, we can become so wrapped up in keeping the church out of chaos that we may miss influences, ideas, and streams of ministry that can positively feed our ministries. Outside ministries can give us insights that can help our congregation for years to come.

One pastor friend says that he was reluctant to participate in a local suicide prevention committee. It seemed like a problem that was beyond his skills or background. But he did learn a great deal about what leads people to suicide, and that helped him be much more sensitive to emotionally troubled members in his congregation.

A church is like a pond. It remains fresh and full when water flows in and out; without that, it grows stagnant or dries up.

2. It broadens my circle of relationships. For several years I have served on the local board of the Metropolitan Interfaith Association, an ecumenical social services agency in Memphis, where I have become acquainted with individuals I would not have met otherwise. One pastor I met there has become one of my best friends in Memphis. I have preached for him on several occasions, and his friendship has enriched my life in many ways.

3. It helps the community. Many needs in a community cannot be met by one church alone but only as churches cooperate. Through outside ministry, pastors build the network of relationships that contribute to church teamwork and can impact the community significantly.

Several years ago a professor at Mid-America Seminary in Memphis organized quarterly prayer breakfasts for the pastors of the larger evangelical churches.

Those meetings accomplished several things. I got to know each pastor personally, discovering his or her personality, ministry style, vision, and background. Also, the meetings diminished competition between our churches. When our members knew we were meeting with each other and building relationships, it fostered trust and unity among the churches.

These relationships have been the entree for working together. When the city experienced tension concerning our new black mayor, the relationships were sufficiently established for me to suggest we publish an open letter in the local newspaper calling for support of the new mayor.

4. It opens doors for members’ community involvement. Many people want to serve their community but don’t know how or where. If their pastor works in a community ministry, it gives not only confidence in the ministry but a willingness to get involved.

Several years ago I became interested in the work of Marva Collins. She organized and leads a school for at-risk children, primarily African-American children in the inner city of Chicago. Her approach is unique, with an integrated curriculum that emphasizes practical skills as well as the study of great literature, problem solving, and phonics. After she spoke in Memphis, my concern for inner city children grew. I decided to put together a community group to form an explicitly Christian school, which we’ve called Shepherd School, based on the Collins model. Our goal is to set up a number of small schools throughout the community.

Even though Shepherd School is not a ministry of our church, and even though it is a risky idea, many of our people have already shown interest in helping with the work. I think my involvement is a key reason for that interest.

5. It gives our church a larger forum. For over five years I have served as chairperson for the evangelism committee of the World Methodist Council. I see this not just as my ministry but as an extension of our church’s ministry. I am the church’s mouthpiece, enabling the church to speak and reach beyond its locale.

I believe the local church needs a corporate witness, someone representing what it preaches in the community each week, bringing the name of the church into the community and modeling its message. If the pastor is preaching about the need to help the poor and feed the hungry, the church needs an official representative in the community doing that.

How to Choose Involvements

As I mentioned, the average pastor receives numerous requests to become involved in outside ministries. We can’t take them all. How do we decide which to join? I ask myself some of the following questions.

• Will it help the community? My first concern is whether the endeavor will be effective at helping people in need.

For example, our church is committed to the poor in Memphis. I want to do anything I can to solve housing, educational, nutrition, and employment problems in Memphis. That has been the basis for our decision to support the Shepherd School and our annual building of a house in the Habitat for Humanity program.

I’m currently involved in an ad hoc committee putting together a city-wide, ecumenical, evangelism campaign in Memphis. I’m taking time for this because city-wide events have a spiritual impact, reach, and visibility that local churches can’t have.

• Will it pay off for me personally? A limited number of ministries benefit the pastor himself. Most pastors feel obligated to attend the local ministerial association, but that doesn’t have enough payoff for me. I do involve myself in other networks of clergy, however.

Especially early in our careers, we need to be careful to build habits of involvement that give a good return. I know one young pastor who would go to the hospital in the county seat and visit every Methodist patient. I felt early on I could better use my time visiting only the most critical patients and using the rest for reading or preparing messages or community work.

Some outside ministries may not be necessary, but they are tremendously rewarding. They keep me alive, fresh, and growing. Leonard Sweet, president of United Theological Seminary, in Dayton, Ohio, has put together an ecumenical group for a three-year project: to develop an apologetic for the twenty-first century.

That interested me, so I accepted his invitation. I want to move into that intellectual world and be sensitized to its ideas. Far from draining me, that type of project fuels me. Whatever level of interaction we have and whatever type of interest, there are ways to plug in somewhere and contribute to a more vital self.

• Will it pay off for our church? If I’m going to take time away from the church, I want the church to benefit somehow, directly or indirectly.

Our church has made a decision to make ministry to the recovering community—those trying to come out of life-destroying habits—a priority. First, the recovering community is large and needy. Second, since our church is investing significant time, energy, and money, we know that some recovering people will make our church their own—a side benefit we have no inclination to ignore!

The other side of this question is. Will my involvement hurt the church? Periodically I track how many hours I give to the church and to outside ministry. I would not feel comfortable with spending more than 20 percent of my time on outside ministry. No matter my hours, if significant church needs are untended, that’s a sign I need to cut back. To a large extent our own efficiency and effectiveness determines how many hours we can spend away.

• Will it fairly represent my church? It is impossible for you to be involved in the public arena and not have your church associated with your actions. You can’t divorce yourself from your congregation. For that reason, I don’t feel free to become involved in partisan politics: I don’t endorse candidates nor work for their election. Furthermore, my church would not smile on my marching in a public demonstration unless it was a clear moral issue.

• Will it overly drain me? While some outside ministry is stimulating, other obligations sap my energy. Denominational committees and administrative roles generally take the life out of me. I fulfill some obligations like that out of a sense of responsibility, but others I turn down without any sense of guilt. I’ve found they take too much out of me.

Convincing the Congregation

If for some reason I’ve been out of the pulpit several weeks in a row, speaking at conferences or other churches, members will kid me: “If you take many more trips, we’re going to introduce you as the guest speaker instead of the pastor.” We all laugh about that, but I know the kidding is based on some level of concern.

Congregations have a right to expect the bulk of their pastors’ attention. What people sometimes forget, though, is that in limited quantities, outside involvement actually benefits them.

So, the more we explain the benefits of outside ministry to our congregation, the more willing they will be to free us for that purpose, and just as important, the more support they will give us. Here’s how I encourage their support.

• Be effective at the home base. Getting the job done at home frees me to minister elsewhere without having a general uprising. If administrative details are in disarray, if we lack teachers for the classroom, if weekly church services are sloppy, my people will rightly question the wisdom of my commitment elsewhere. Especially if outside ministry calls me from the pulpit on Sunday, I’d better be paying my dues.

One pastor I know in the Northwest became interested in the problem of racism, researched the subject heavily, and became heavily involved as an activist for equal rights, to the point where he virtually abandoned his congregation. Because of this neglect, his church eventually asked him to resign his church responsibilities.

Effectiveness at home does more than quell uprisings, though. It legitimizes our outside work. Rather than being an individual working in the community, I represent a group of concerned people. It also makes resources available for the outside involvement. People from my church often volunteer as workers, and money is often budgeted in support of such programs.

• Come to an agreement with your congregation and communicate that clearly. Many of my people have not been supportive of my participation in the World Methodist Council because they haven’t thought the Council supports their values and beliefs.

But these same people are enthused about my work with The Methodist Declaration, an ad hoc group seeking to keep the Methodist Church centered in traditional orthodoxy. The issues addressed by this ad hoc group have been on the minds of many of our church members, and they were delighted for me to voice their convictions in this group.

In general, then, I’ve found that churches support their pastor’s outside ministry if it is (a) an extension of the church’s personality, and (b) in accord with their idea of ministry. Not all my outside involvement has to meet these criteria, but most better.

Thus, I’ve seen the need to become more formal in the way I become involved in outside ministries. Our staff/parish committee reviewed my involvement in outside ministry recently, set a new policy, and clearly communicated that with the congregation. We’ve agreed to see my ministry as majoring in three areas:

—The local church: preaching, casting vision, planning, and legitimizing ministry.

—The community of Memphis: primarily, the recovering community and the poor.

—The denomination.

Previously the church’s policy was that I could be absent from the pulpit eight Sundays a year (including my vacation time). After this recent review, that was bumped to ten Sundays. This agreement was approved by the board and communicated to the congregation in writing.

• Let the congregation see the value of what I’m doing. I intentionally weave my outside ministry experiences into my sermons as anecdotes. As people see the spiritual impact of my time away, based on my conversations and experiences, they feel included in what I do, they see God at work, and they catch my vision.

Along with four other large churches in our denomination, our church is helping some Russian churches with evangelism. Recently I visited Russia to make contacts and determine what help we could give. The first Sunday after my return, I did more than tell a few anecdotes; I preached a sermon entitled “From Russia with Love.” In that sermon I told this story:

We spent time in Russia with one church that helps feed hungry, elderly, starving pensioners. One day we helped the volunteers serve food. It was an amazing thing—many of those hungry people, 60, 70, 80 years old, have never been served in their lives. What expressions would come on their faces when we would approach them and shake their hands!

I helped two people to a table and then gave them trays of food. They each received a bowl of rice, a bowl of hot soup, a piece of bread, a piece of meat, and a cup of hot tea. Then I sat down beside one woman.

I learned through an interpreter that the woman was 76 years old. Her face lit up as she told me that she had a Ph.D. in geology and had served the government in Siberia for thirty-five years. Then her face clouded, and she said, “But the dream is dead. The dream is gone.”

Her pension of five hundred rubles had been adequate for years, but no longer. She can’t buy a dress, much less a coat. She felt betrayed. She was without hope. Her soul has been sucked out.

Such firsthand experiences animate sermons and inform our church of great needs in the world. The value of my time away from the church is obvious to all.

I still struggle how to make best use of my time as a pastor. But these guidelines take away a lot of the anguish, and they free me to serve better my congregation and the larger human community to which Christ calls me.