How should a church handle a significant event?
Question:
Greetings Brother Hamilton,
I trust your worship service went well today. Please, I need your guidance on these matters:
- What can the church do when someone in the church dies? How should the church go about it? I need a procedure. In other words, how can the church take responsibility?
- Child Birth: How can the church support the family concerned?
- Critical illness: What should the church do about it? And how?
- Relocation of a member: How can the church support like appreciating the time and love shared?
- Any other disaster.
- How should a building committee handle individual donations? For example, if you have the chairman, secretary, and another member (who happens to be the church's treasurer and feels that as soon as donations enter, he must be notified), how can a preacher go about this?
- And any other that may be helpful in running the church.
- How should the church attend to visitors? How can the church keep track of the visitors?
Forgive my disturbance. I am new to the work of the church, and these things are beginning to come up. I just need guidance to have a standard, principles, and pattern to work with as a young preacher.
Thank you, sir, and happy Lord's Day.
Answer:
A preacher's duty revolves around teaching God's word to those outside and within the church. He does not run the church. He teaches the members how to live in accordance with God's standards.
A church is a family whose members are related by their spiritual birth instead of physical lineage. What happens in a family when a member dies, or a child is born? I would expect the members to act similarly as if one of their physical family died or had a child. There are no strict rules because much of this is cultural. The church has no responsibility as a church, but its members are responsible for showing love and concern for their fellow members. The same can be said about critical illness, moving, or some disaster. Members should pray for each other and see that the needs of members are met. "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality" (Romans 12:10-13). See Individual or Church?
A congregation only raises its money through voluntary donations given on the first day of the week (I Corinthians 16:1-2). If money is received on some other day, it is added to the next Sunday's contributions. There is no building committee in the Bible. There are no chairmen or secretaries. As a preacher, I avoid getting involved in the collection of funds so that it does not appear that I'm making money off the church.
The church decides how visitors are handled. As a preacher, I encourage the members to be hospitable and friendly. I try to meet each visitor, but other members also meet them. If they are from the community, I try to set up a time to meet and talk about what the church is about. At this congregation, we usually try to get a visitor's mailing address, and then several members write to thank the person for coming to services.
Response:
Okay, sir. Thank you so much for your great insight into this. I am highly grateful for your time, patience, and understanding. May God continue to give you the grace to continue the good you have been doing.
Best regards.
