Observers categorize churches in a variety of ways. Often these categories are made in an effort to criticize but even then they can be constructive. One characterization is made between a missional church and a maintenance church.

A missional church is one that is focused on mission. Though there may be arguments about exactly what the mission is it usually comes down to Jesus’ command to make disciples. There are also disagreements as to what is actually meant by making disciples as well as other tasks of the church but those are not discussions I wish to address here.

A maintenance church is one that is dedicated to maintaining the status quo. They like how things are or how things were in the past and they see keeping things the same as their most important objective.

But this is all background. My friend Dan recently posted a link to an article by William Wilimon that pointed out some differences between missional and maintenance churches. On of the items on his lift went something like this. “In a missional church the people introduce people to the pastor. In a maintenance church the pastor introduces people to members of the congregation.”

I thought this was a great indicator. It shows church members that are not only not embarrassed of their church but also see the importance of making disciples of Jesus. I want our church to be that way.

© 2006-2008 Zanesville United Brethren Church