Most of the work of ministry cannot be done in a church office. For one, only a tiny fraction of the ministry done by Bethany Place (or any other church) takes place through those who happen to be church staff. Rather, that ministry takes place as each member faithfully lives their lives as unto the Lord at home, work, and in their community. As Matt Smethurst says about ministry in his new book on Deacons that several of us are reading:  

• Elders lead ministry 
• Deacons facilitate ministry 
• The congregation does ministry 

That quote doesn’t mention the role of staff members, but churches hire very few by comparison to support the work of the ministry carried out by the whole body. Much of their ministry also happens outside the walls of our facility. In the first church that I served as a 21-year-old college student, I never thought when I went into that church building during the week, “I’m really getting the work of the church done now,” because there was never anyone else there. I knew that to do ministry I needed to be where people were. However, since serving as a full-time pastor, since my late 20’s, I’ve always served on a staff with other people around keeping office hours. That’s not a problem on the face of it, however, as theologian and pastor Eugene Peterson once said, “When you sit in a room called the ‘pastor’s office,’ you might find yourself just doing office work.” Office work is good and honorable, but it’s not the main thing that a pastor needs to be doing. The more that I sit here, especially in the afternoons, there’s an inverse relationship with my effectiveness as the Teaching Elder of Bethany Place.  

Another set of relevant facts are these: Walk-up traffic to the church office has been very little for years. Furthermore, most people in the church who want to call me or other staff members reach them directly on their cell phones. The main church phone line can be answered from anywhere with a cell phone. Finally, last Thursday, June 10, was Jessica’s last day of ministry with us at Bethany Place. So, for the immediate term, before we bring on a Family Minister and discern what our other staffing needs are, we are a little shorthanded.  

I say all of this to say that we are officially reducing the office hours at Bethany Place. I am convinced this will be a net gain for the ministry of Bethany Place. Beginning next week, we will keep office hours of 9:00 am-3:00 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays. No one will be working less, just working differently. If you have any questions, you can email me at Gene.Cornett@bethanyplace.com.  

When there is a ministry need in the church, your first and best call is to your deacon or small group leader. If you don’t have a small group leader, please let us help you get connected. If you don’t know who your deacon is, please email deacons@bethanyplace.com and we will get that information to you. 

I’m excited to be preaching a message on loving other believers well this Sunday from 1 Peter 1:22-2:3. Much work is going on behind the scenes amongst the Elders and the Family Ministry Search Team. We hope to have some news very soon.  

In Christ,  

Gene