A Factory Mentality
18 07 2011
Recently, a news article reported that due to the high cost of maintenance and an increase in competition, the Hershey’s Chocolate Factory will be closing temporarily, in order to regroup and redesign its building for a more efficient candy-making process. We understand the importance of factories, places known for making or producing valuable products, like chocolate—can you imagine a world with no chocolate? But perhaps we are not aware of the cost necessary to make factories operate. When I say that our church should have a “factory mentality,” I mean that our church should be making or producing something valuable to the ministry of Christ, a product we cannot market nor one upon which we can place a price tag. I am referring to people who have been gloriously saved by faith in Christ, changed into Christlikeness through the Holy Spirit, and equipped by the local church to serve Christ. We cannot save people, but we can equip saved individuals with the skills and abilities which help them serve Christ effectively.
Having a “factory mentality” at FBC means that we look at each individual as a potential servant of Christ who could be equipped for ministry. If our ministry loses this mentality, we will eventually stagnate and fail in one of the chief missions God has given the church. Two key ingredients make our factory mentality work. The first is that we have a heavy emphasis on teaching. Right now, there are four areas where this is happening:
1. Whetstone Class—a six-week class that prepares potential teachers to be better teachers here in our ministry.
2. Leadership Meetings—occur on the last Wednesday of every month for our leadership team. Though we are constantly dealing with the needs of our ministry in each of those meetings, every meeting begins with a concentrated time of teaching and training to help our deacons be men of character and competency in their important roles within our church.
3. Ministry Interns—a program for men who have a heart for ministry and who are either in college or just within our church family. We provide a set curriculum and training coupled with lots of ministry experience here at FBC.
4. Sunday Night Seminars—occasional Sunday night services that are dedicated entirely to particular areas of ministry within our church (children’s ministry, evangelism, etc.).
The second key ingredient to making the factory mentality work here is for there to be an emphasis on ministry experience. In our ministry right now, we see this happening in many ways:
1. We let people who are not “experts” in particular areas serve in those areas so that they can grow.
2. We are not actively pursuing skilled people from outside our ministry but rather are growing the people within our ministry.
3. We let children and teens serve in music, ushering, children’s ministries, and more.
Having a “factory mentality” can be a joy for us as we see the finished product. But just as the cost to run the Hershey’s Chocolate Factory has proven to be quite high, so the cost for FBC to have this factory mentality is often high. For instance, we need to be willing to pay the following prices:
1. A slow pace of ministry because we are training people while we minister
2. A ministry that doesn’t always do things professionally and with lots of polish.
3. A ministry that invests financially in teachers, curriculum, teaching aids, and other things that help us train well.
4. A ministry that will say goodbye to some of its best products, because God equipped them here to use somewhere else in ministry.
As a child, I once had the privilege of visiting the Hershey Chocolate Factory and left with pictures and samples of chocolate. But those items are now long gone. As a church, though, with a factory mentality, our product of disciples trained for ministry is not a temporal one but rather an eternal one. The work of discipleship is a glorious work and one we must be faithful in pursuing.
– Pastor Ron
