You can do the work of ten people or you can train ten people to do the work. How does that translate into the work of an associational missionary?
Do I train ten people to do association-wide work such as in music or Sunday School? Do I give my time to working with individual churches where I can train leaders to work in their own congregations?
Obviously my skills are multiplied if they are invested in passionate individuals who will accept additional training and will then work in separate churches or church clusters in specific areas. Leadership is multiplied, more people are helped, and the cause of the Kingdom is furthered by having more people involved.
What do you do if there are no passionate people who will go outside of their own church to invest in association-wide training? They are more than happy to throw themselves into their own church context. They will give everything they've got. They just want to focus on their own church field, their own church family.
In a large association there is no way for the ADOM to get around to every church. He must rely on someone else helping to cover all the bases. You have two options: train your own in house team or bring in outside facilitators who will train the folks in the local churches one at a time or in cluster groups. Do you choose an option based upon your own personal skills and the size of the association? Do you focus on just how much time you want to spend running to individual churches versus trying to pump up someone to do their job when they obviously do not have the passion to do what they agreed to do?
The fewer the churches that want to move into the future accepting the changes that will be necessary, the easier it is to work with the churches individually, celebrate with them their victories, and move onward. The greater the number of churches of any kind, the easier it is simply to say, "We'll pay someone to come in and do the training for whoever decides to show up." Then you hope enough people show up to cover your expenses!
Tis a frustrating puzzlement.
