The Difference Between Having Church Ministries and Activities

My family and I travel a large amount though we actually only are gone from our church about two Sundays a year and one of those is usually on our annual missions trip.  So we usually only see one or two other church bulletins in any given year, but when we do it’s sometimes amazing what you learn.  Churches are extremely busy!  One church we attended a couple years ago had something scheduled every night of the week and on most nights there were two or three things going on at the same time.  Now mind you I love seeing an active church but it also begs the question - where do we draw the line between a church just being busy with activities and a church actually having ministries?

As should be our norm, let’s look at scripture for the answer.  For sake of this article, let’s define “ministries” as those things which Jesus and the early churches did at the leading of the Holy Ghost and “activities” as things which churches have chosen to do in addition to those “ministries.”  I truly think that is as fair a definition as we can scripturally make.

Here is a short list of what the Bible does and does not say about the activities that fill present church schedules:

1. Sunday School Activities - There is not one mention of Sunday School in the Bible.  Now this does not mean it is wrong to have one, as we do at Valley Bible Baptist Church, but we know that we cannot say “We have Sunday School just like the first churches did,”  since they did not have them.  Sunday School’s history is actually only been since about 1750 and did not truly gain wide spread acceptance until well in the 1900’s.  Also Sunday School used to be an additional afternoon activity in most churches until the late 1940’s when it was moved to the morning either before or after the main worship service.  Sunday School is a wonderful tool in many churches, but many pastors and therefore their ministries also get discouraged when their Sunday School is not well attended.  Though there is not mention of Sunday School per say in the early churches, Jesus did teach daily (Matthew 5:1-2) and the early churches clearly taught the people regularly (Acts 5:42) and so Sunday School can easily fit into this in a general way, but not directly as a morning “Sunday School.”  Thus Sunday School, in my opinion, can be seen as either ministry or activity depending what other means of biblical “education” the church is doing.
2. Christian day school - Again there is no mention of day schools or even public schooling in the Bible at all.  No mind you, many do not see themselves as capable to home school their children and thus education outside the home is, in their minds, necessary, but we have to see the definition of “ministry” and “activity” based upon biblical terms and not our personal thoughts.  Please understand, I AM NOT attacking Christian schools as my minor in college was education, my father was a part time teacher in public school and opened a Christian school in two of churches he pastored, and my in laws were both teachers as well, so based upon my life experiences I have no issue with Christian education and understand that public education is also seen as a necessary part of the American culture today.  But let’s be honest enough to see that schools were not a part of the early churches’ “ministries” at all.  Biblically speaking education is somewhat of an enigma in scripture as there is teaching of God’s Word in both Old and New Testaments, teaching skills and trades to others, and certain people seemingly learning via some educational system such as Moses and Paul, but no mention of schools except for the religious school in Acts 19:9.
3. Youth Group - Now before anyone boxes me into the “Integrated Church Family Movement” which is opposed to youth groups and any age groups divisions within a church, let me say without reservation - youth groups are a fine thing in the church as long as they are about growing our youth spiritually and not just entertainment.  But again, there is not one mention of youth groups in the earliest churches of the Bible.  Jesus did say that children should be brought to Him (Luke 18:16) and younger people were to be taught by the older (Titus 2) but these do not directly define a “youth group.”   Can you place a youth group within these verses?  Yes, but with certain qualifications which all things in churches should meet.
4. Visitation Programs - The first Christians did not need a program to get themselves to preach the Gospel of Christ to the lost world, because, they were so motivated that they shared Him everywhere they went (Acts 8:4).  So why do we have visitation programs in our schedules?  A preacher of years gone by said something like this “If Christians just did what the Great Commission said, we wouldn’t need visitation programs in our churches.”  He is 100% correct, but, let’s be honest about our weaknesses too, as we live in bodies of flesh and struggle to do what is right without some encouragement to do those things which we know we should.  Thus visitation programs are important activities of the church, but do they actually meet the criteria of “ministry” or not?  You decide.
5. Choir Practice - This subject could cause great discussion in some places, but realize there is not one mention of a choir in the New Testament at all.  The only mention of "choir" is the Old Testament where professional singers were hired to sing in the Temple (2 Chronicles 20:21).  While singing in the New Testament was done by people to glorify God (Acts 16:25) and encourage themselves in the Lord (Ephesians 5:19).  There is no mention of choir or choir practice in the New Testament churches.   By the way, our church has a choir and we love choir music, so please don’t say I’m opposed to them, just questioning how we define them as ministry or activity and do we have them to fill the calendar with events.
6. Many other activities are NOT mentioned in the New Testament that currently seem to fill church calendars today such as; senior’s groups, church field trips, summer camps, game nights, film nights, concerts, fund raisers, kid’s clubs, and so on.  Yet none of these were actually done in the early churches.

Please understand that I am NOT ATTACKING these events, just trying to get people to think biblically about them.  Please also know that many churches do not have these activities or these events are so poorly attended that it brings discouragement to the heart, and, to be very honest in our current spiritual environment, more and more people are looking for a church with “activities” instead of a place to truly worship in truth.  And is it any wonder as too many churches have fed this mindset by thinking that the number of “activities” equals success in their church and so they lead with all their activities when they promote their church.

In conclusion let me show what the early churches DID and were commanded to DO every day and then you decide if you and your church are ministering biblically.

1. Acts 2:46 “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.”
2. Acts 5:42 “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.”
3. Acts 6:1-2 “And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.”
4. Acts 17:11 “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”
5. Hebrews 13:3 “But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
6. James 2:15-17 “If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”

Please know that if the events on your calendar fulfill the “ministries” in these verses then praise the Lord and double your efforts to be a part of those events.  But if your church calendar is filled with just “activities” then maybe it’s time to double your prayer efforts and maybe make some changes to the calendar.  Just a thought to consider.