We have now looked at two topics: how to make church life more accessible to those who are poor or in need so that they can ‘hear’ the gospel, and how to identify what particular ministry we should be carrying out in our church. In this interview Andy Cottingham considers some matters related to running the ministry.
Form a Charity?
The church is an integral part of the community. A charity has a separate life. So it is with great caution that a church should consider forming a separate charity and there must be safeguards in the governance to prevent any such charity becoming independent of the church. Andy addresses this in the talk below but I have also written about it in a previous series.
Relationship with other agencies
Typically there are several agencies who are working with different aspects of poverty and deprivation, both statutory and voluntary. It would be foolish to ignore these and work in isolation as a church. Credibility with them will be achieved by being reliable and bringing a degree of excellence to what we do.
Social Enterprise
For someone to achieve independence he or she needs to generate an income. Social enterprise can assist this to happen. But ‘business’ is often seen as a dirty word in church circles. Yet churches rely on business people to generate their own income in order to give to the church.
Relating to Entrepreneurs
Andy discusses how Church elders and Entrepreneurs can helpfully work together to sharpen each others area of expertise and interest, particularly considering the different attitudes to risk and the decision-making processes.
