Everything a church does is ministry. Everything. Everything a church does is mission. Everything.
The central activity in every church is Sunday morning worship, of course. That is the most obvious form of ministry and mission. But over the course of 52 Sunday services each year, churches celebrate the Word in 52 different ways. Each Sunday is unique, each bears a different message and each carries forth a different mission.
Sunday worship is not where ministry and mission ends. Churches use the energy of the message to spread their ministry throughout their community, the nation and around the globe. The reach of each church, no matter how small, no matter how remote, is global. Prayers, activities, givings, energy, and faith reach to the farthest corners of our planet.
There are nearly 1,000 pastoral charges within the Presbyterian Church in Canada. That means there are at the very least 1,000 variations on ministry each week, as each charge is unique in its dynamics. Surveying these ministries is a massive task. The following pages contain an informal and anecdotal collection of stories on how we do ministry (and mission). It is hardly an exhaustive list, representing a very small percentage of the countless activities performed by our churches. From bake sales to working with street prostitutes, Presbyterians do Christ's work, every day, in many different ways.
Pitching faith in the major leagues
Presbyterian plays ball for God
by Amy MacLachlan
Welcome begins at the door
These churches didn’t have to look far to find their mission work, it was right under their noses
by Amy MacLachlan, with Amy Cameron
Love the story, love God
by Ty Ragan
Musical prepares the way
by John McTavish
Parish nurses provide holistic healing
Caring for the body of Christ and the human body
by Amy Cameron
Taking ministry to the streets
Church isn’t a vacuum, it exists within a neighbourhood, sitting beside other institutions. These ministries opened their doors and took their work into their community.
by Amy MacLachlan
Music ministry takes spiritual risks
by Alex MacLeod
The retreat experience
by Gerry Hofstra
