Philosophy of Ministry

I recently had to make a presentation on my philosophy of ministry at a local ministry conference, and some of my friends asked me to post my presentation notes for their access. So...

Philosophy of Ministry
By Mark McMahon

Qualifying Statement: This philosophy of ministry is being presented under the pretense that 2 things are being understood.

1) I have no personal philosophy of ministry in and of my own design. I am not so clever as to reinvent the wheel, and I am not so good at living into Jesus’ philosophy of ministry that I have become bored or in need of a new challenge in the ministry environment. It should, therefore, be recognized that my presentation today should not be referred to as “Mark McMahon’s Philosophy of Ministry”, but rather it should be called “the manner in which Mark McMahon strives to live out Jesus’ Philosophy of Ministry”.

2) In the past I have been asked many times what it would mean to do ministry in a certain environment, this church, that community, etc. Not knowing any of the pertinent details of any specifically defined arena as it pertains to this presentation, I have strategically articulated the values of this Philosophy of Ministry without terms of systems or structures, sticking instead to what I feel are a list of “non-negotiables” for any ministry that I would be a part of.

Observation of Effectiveness:

It is my opinion and observation that ministries are most effective in facilitating true life transformation when they position parishioners to:

• feel the love of Jesus in the midst of their own struggles and circumstances

(i.e.) When Christ invades your heart, it changes you forever.

• experience Jesus showing others His love through their sacrifices and faithful service

(i.e.) When you experience Christ touching someone else’s life through your sacrifice of time and talents, it changes you forever.

Striving to live out Jesus’ Philosophy of Ministry:

My attempts to live out Jesus’ Philosophy of Ministry express themselves as trying to position my parishioners for the most effective facilitation of those two life transformational experiences as I focus on four key areas of Biblical ideology.

1) I strive to be a part of a ministry that sees people.

Being seen by Jesus at the top of a sycamore tree was something that changed Zacchaeus’ life forever (Luke 19:5). When Jesus saw the widow crying over her son who had just died, he had compassion on her and raised her son from the dead (Luke 7:13). Simon the Pharisee criticized the sinful woman who bathed Jesus’ feet with her tears and her hair to which Jesus replied, “Do you see this woman?” I strive to be a part of a ministry that really “sees” people. I strive to be a part of a ministry that looks upon people, not with judgement, but with compassion. By being a part of a ministry that really “sees” people, I believe you build an environment in which people are free to be themselves. And an environment that allows people to be themselves is an environment in which people are more quickly ministered to on the deepest level. When Jesus saw people, lives got transformed for all eternity. Zacchaeus became an honest man. The widow got her son back. And the sinful woman received forgiveness. Wherever I do ministry, I strive to do ministry in a manner that sees people.

2) I strive to be a part of a ministry that cares for people.

Matthew chapter 25 clearly communicates that Jesus desires His church to care for one another in very practical ways. Feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Give drink to the thirsty. Care for the sick and imprisoned. Isaiah and Zechariah speak of God’s heart in caring for certain people groups such as the widow, the fatherless, the oppressed, and the foreigner. The church of the book of Acts was both famous and infamous in its practice of “giving to one another as there was need” (Acts 2:45). In short, I believe that Jesus’ church is a group of people that Jesus expects to care for the needs of every person in very practical ways. And when we care for one another in this manner, it is only then that we start living into what is recorded in John 15:12. “My command to you is this: that you love one another as I have loved you.” I strive to build a ministry that cares for people.

3) I strive to be a part of a ministry that values God’s Word both in study and in action.

I understand from Scripture that Jesus spent many, many hours of His earthly ministry educating His disciples growing them up in the Word preparing them to live life in the reality of His crucifixion and resurrection. And I observe Him accomplishing this task through both the teaching of Biblical Truth and the strategic practice of that Truth in every day life. In striving to be part of a ministry that values God’s Word both in study and in action, we position growing disciples to be practitioners of God’s grace and goodness and not mere bystanders. Putting our Bible studies into action, we communicate a value in a discipleship lifestyle, not just discipleship classes. We stop just going to church, and we start being the church to a lost a hurting world. I strive to be a part of a ministry that both teaches, and practices the teachings, of God’s Word.

4) I strive to be a part of a ministry that sends people.

Filled with the Holy Spirit, we as followers of Christ have been called as witnesses to the Gospel of grace and peace in places that Luke records in Acts 1:8 as Jerusalem, all of Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Jesus spoke also unto His disciples saying that we are to go and make disciples of the nations (Matthew 28:19-20). While the “whereabouts” of our Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria may differ from Luke’s, it is clear that Jesus has called us as His people to do ministry outside of the church walls…beyond our city limits…across national borders…to the ends of the earth. In doing so, our Lord has instructed us to deny ourselves, pick up our crosses, and follow Him into the places of this world where He is known the least, places where He isn’t even welcomed, for the purpose of sharing His Good News. I want to be a part of a ministry that sends people for this purpose. That His name and His renown may be known by all people, I want to be a part of a ministry that sends people.


To those of you who were interested in this, I hope it was helpful.
Grace and Peace