Last week Lauren and I (Bill) shared our thoughts about leaving personal legacy, by wrestling with the question, “How do you want to be remembered?” Of course we came to the conclusion that it was more important for people to remember Jesus than us. As Lauren shared…”I believe we make the most impact and can leave the greatest legacy when we make the most of those small, unexpected moments with people the way Jesus did.”
Since this is a blog focused on helping you and your congregation make the shift from maintenance to mission, we thought we would ask the same question about your congregation. What legacy is your congregation leaving the next generation? As the authors of Legacy Churches, Stephen Gray and Franklin Dumond wrote: “To leave a legacy is to pass on to future generations something of great significance. Leaving a legacy should be the hope of every church!”
Instead of wrestling with the question, “How do you want to be remembered?”, a more appropriate question for your congregation is, “If your congregation ceased to exist, what would the community miss?” How you answer this influences the legacy your congregation might leave. If your answer revolves more around activities and programs preferred by current members and participants, the legacy may be minimal. If your answer focuses on the lives impacted beyond the four walls of your building, the legacy may be more lasting. In other words, churches who focus on survival won’t leave much of a legacy, but churches that focus on the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ will have an impact long after this generation is gone.
The reality is our congregations are not about us but about the lives we change, influence and impact in our communities. Even if our churches closed, if we’ve had an impact, then we have left a legacy. Consider the Apostle Paul. It is believed that he started anywhere from 14 to 20 churches during his ministry, and yet some believe none of those original congregations remain. As Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Rev. Michael Curry, wrote: “Jesus did not establish an institution, though institutions can serve his cause. He did not organize a political party, though his teachings have a profound impact on politics. Jesus did not even launch a religion. No, Jesus began a movement, fueled by his Spirit, a movement whose purpose was and is to change the face of the earth from the nightmare it often is into the dream that God intends. . . .” Paul and the congregations he started were part of this movement and had an incredible impact and left a monumental legacy. Lauren and I know this because all of us are the proof. We are here today, worshiping God through Jesus Christ because of Paul’s ministry of church planting and the faithful ministry of the congregations he started.
So what about your congregation? What legacy will you leave? What impact do you plan to have?