David Prince and Jeremy Haskins, pastors at Ashland Avenue Baptist Church in Lexington, KY, were recently interviewed in The Towers at Southern Seminary.  They were asked to describe their leadership philosophies and how they have led change at their church.  Their interview is steeped with wisdom, but one section concerning corporate, Gospel-centered ministry stood out.

“A lot of people do ministry in a way that self-consciously segments the entire congregation,” Prince said. “What we try to do is never allow that. If these things matter to the congregation as a whole for the sake of the Gospel then we are all committed to them.

“For example, when we send a mission team out, we don’t say that we are sending a certain group of people out on a mission trip. We say, ‘Ashland Avenue Baptist Church is involved in this mission trip. Some people have involvement here and some have involvement there; the people there are our eyes, hands and mouths for the Gospel.’”

Well said!  May our churches adopt such a “together for the gospel” mindset.  Moreover, may we have a united missional drive that sees whole churches involved in Christ’s mission, so that ‘missions’ is what everyone does, not just those who are leaving American soil.

Until All Hear, dss