allhourschurch

Facilitating Para-Ministries

Have you ever been to a Church Ministry Fair Day at a MegaChurch? Some churches have so many ministries that you could spend all day learning about them. Some of these ministries involve multiple churches. A "para-church ministry" or "para-ministry" is a ministry that a church supports or endorses. It's not exactly church itself. For instance, a program for medical missionaries. Medical missionaries have been known to team up. They learn from each other. They know how to get cheap flights, supplies and the support they need for their missions. Another example is a crisis pregnancy center. Another is a group of Christian Musicians.

There are missions for praying in schools, missions for visiting the sick, eucharistic ministries like Stephen Ministry, there is Tres Dias, Cursillo, Barnabas and Kairos, prison ministry. There is the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Christians in Business, Christians in Recovery, Grief Ministry, Marriage Encounter, Youth with a Mission, prayer chains, multi-media missions, Internet outreach, and there are seminaries and Christian schools. There are too many types of para-ministries to name.

Many ministries don't happen because there aren't enough people in a church to make them worthwhile. Two members of a small church asked their pastor for a simple weekly Bible Study. The pastor had to admit that he had offered a Bible Study in the past but not enough people attended to make it worth while. One person in another small church wanted to go caroling at Christmas. None of the others could sing well enough or had the available time. She decided not to go alone.

Unity by church extension solves many problems. Not only does it enlarge each church and ministry by extension through a shared facility but it also lowers the cost of such a facility because it is shared. Para-ministries need places to meet. Meeting space can be very expensive. According to Loopnet.com the average monthly cost of rent on commercial property in Tallahassee is about $1.30/square foot.

A facility of 10,000 square feet or more could host as many as three or maybe even four complimentary ministry meetings at once at any given time all while keeping the library and counseling center open as at all times. Prior to the All Hours Church, the option was either to borrow space from a church, which is certainly affordable, or pay full rent. Not all ministries are ideally suited for borrowing space from local churches or for renting full time. A crisis pregnancy center, for instance, needs a public face. It may want a whole store front but may not have enough donations at first to afford one. Having use of an All Hours Church store front space will allow them to get started in their ministry, prove they are effective, and then move to another larger location after they are stronger.

We know the frustration of many pastors who have wanted to help their congregants with their visions for ministry. Aware of the cost and obligations involved in starting ministry they often say, "no." The All Hours Church environment facilitates the realization of inspired ideas. It offers both lowered cost shared expense and people to join and help carry ideas through to fulfillment without drawing on the limited resources of the local church. By unity, the loaves and the fishes, they multiply!

The results can be estimated and quantifiable goals can be set. If a 10,000 sf facility costs $13,000/month and hosts an average of three rooms at $40/hour, the ministry that pays for three days/week for two hours, pays $480/week and about $2000/month. It takes just thirteen such ministries to break even. The building is open twenty four hours/day with availability up to four such ministries meeting simultaneously at any given time. Running at just 20% capacity at $40/hour = 4 spaces x 24 hours x 30 days x $40 x 20% = $23,040/month. Any excess over the cost of rent can be used to improve the facilities with more computer stations and it is possible that we may also pay staff, duplicate the All Hours Church concept in other cities, and make donations to the local churches, missionaries, seminarians and ministries.