People Over Programs

The idea is this: instead of having a strategic vision that focuses on programs, you have a strategic vision of a people-process - a pathway that takes people from where they are now, to where you want them to be. Yet to practice this is tough because in the 21st Century American church there is much pressure to buy in to a “menu philosophy approach” which is to have lots of programs and activities to satisfy the needs of the people who you want to come to church and those that already attend church. Topical studies, support groups, age-based ministries, specialize ministries were created so everyone could find something for them at their local church. Yet in most situations this programatic approach becomes difficult to maintain long-term and they have many things going on but since all churches are limited in time and resources some to many of them are not done well.

So at Sandy Ridge we want people to live and love more like Jesus by allowing Him to live His life through them, so the question becomes how can you how do you move people in their relationship with Jesus? And simply, meeting felt needs won’t do that. They may feel like it does for days or weeks or months but Jesus is after transformation, not information or emotional experiences. So Sandy Ridge is not against programs but we want our few programs that we do have to move people to a growing relationship with God through Jesus. So people living and loving more like Jesus is our end goal/target and not having lots of programs and activities.

For example, Jesus’ commands all Christians to make disciples. And there are many paths a church can take to accomplish this yet the leadership team at Sandy Ridge concluded that discipleship happens most naturally in the context of meaningful relationships. And these relationships are most likely to develop through the dynamic of an active small group. We are not suggesting that a small group is the only place for discipleship or if you particpate then you are guaranteed to grow and be transformed. It just seems that discipleship happens when like-minded people who partner together to practice the presence, power, and purpose of Jesus Christ here on earth. Now Sandy Ridge nor any other church can force people to grow relationally with other people, force them to connect and live out all the “one another commands” that are found in the Bible. The only thing we can do is to create environments that will faciliate that process of seeing people move to where they need to be. That is why we invest more of our time and resources in these ongoing gatherings vs. one-time events or big events. For example, our main thrust of serving our community is through our community groups even though a few times a year we will have a churchwide service project day (i.e. Sandy Pride Day or once a year we have church by serving in the community to highlight the reality that serving God is just as much worship as singing or hearing God’s Word being taught or communion that would happen in a traditional church service).