Friday, November 24, 2006

Part 3: Pastoral/accountability

Because of the way things work in large churches, the larger the church grows, the less able the elder is to minister effectively to the individual families in the church. In large churches, people tend to sit in the same place from week to week and this often leads to the sensations (and reality) of loneliness and disconnectedness. The people in larger churches often feel left out and/or ignored by the leadership of the church. Parishes create smaller groups of individuals and families, allowing for much easier and more efficient care and ministry. Elders know every one in their parish and can know them on a much more intimate level. No one is left behind or ignored. All are ministered to as they have needs.

One of the ways the parishes are used in the pastoral ministry of the church is in the Heads of Households meetings. Originally, the HOH meetings were held monthly as one large meeting. When the attendance grew to over one hundred Heads meeting together in one place, discussion became almost impossible. This precipitated dividing the single HOH meeting into many parish HOH meetings, still meeting monthly. Except for once a quarter, the HOH meetings occur at the parish level at the homes of elders or deacons. (There are a couple of parishes that do not have elders, and these parishes join up with parishes that do and meet with their elder.) These smaller HOH meetings allow the elders and deacons to hear from more individuals and to discuss the issues in a more in depth way.

At these meetings, the HOH’s are able to give their input regarding the things of the church, and the pastor and elders are able, in this more informal setting, to lay out to the HOHs their vision and direction for the church. Before there are any new additions to the worship service, for example, they are discussed at the HOH meetings for several months in advance.

In addition to the conveyance of information, the parish HOH meetings allow the elders to more effectively minister to the individuals of the congregation. While the Heads might not want to share intimate details in front of the whole church, they are encouraged, to at least, let the elder of their parish know they need prayer for a particular situation. The elder can then have lunch with them or invite them for dinner and discuss the concern or problem in a more intimate setting. Ministry and care can be given in the parish setting in a more efficient and gentler manner than it can at the larger church level.

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