COVO Congregations 2:
What are the benefits of a COVO Congregation?
As I mentioned in an earlier post, often congregations without a fulltime paid minister are seen as declining, small and struggling churches. Yet, many churches and leaders are intentionally adopting this approach as being better for their strategy and spiritual health. So what possible benefits can there be in adopting this pattern of ministry?
First, there are several benefits to the minister themselves.
COVO ministers:
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Are released from the emotional burden of carrying the health and care of the people alone;
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Develop a more well-rounded sense of identity, seeing themselves as being more than church leaders;
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Which makes burnout less likely, and also breaks the isolation that could lead to the temptations of abusing power and privilege;
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Are able to build more intimate and aware connections with people outside of the church;
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Which allows them to speak more clearly to the actual concerns and struggles of ordinary people;
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Are freed from financial concerns as the fortunes of the congregation rise and fall;
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Which frees them to speak prophetic truth more freely when necessary;
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Are more likely to put down deep roots in a local community and stick around for longer!
Secondly, there are also benefits to the congregation and the members:
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Most obviously, they are able to strategically allocate financial resources to other ministry areas;
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Shared ministry elevates the role and contributions all who serve;
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The ministry of the church is more attuned to the concerns of the entire church, rather than being driven by the passion and gifts of one dominant leader;
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The development of leadership gifts is more equitably shared across the entire church family;
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The vision for success is less about growing numbers or running programs, and more about the spiritual health and vitality of everyone involved;
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This leads to a more sustainable and restful pace of life, ministry and programming, which in turn makes the church more attractive to busy, stressed-out people!
Our COV Project at Briercrest defines a Thriving COVO church as showing the following signs:
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Thriving COVO congregations affirm the biblical call on every disciple of Jesus to serve in the priesthood of all believers. By empowering the entire body of the church to act, onus is distributed among the congregation as all members discern and follow their individual and unique calling.
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Thriving COVO congregations understand and intentionally set reasonable expectations for paid and volunteer staff, joyfully respecting boundaries that nurture wellness. They raise up leaders who value diverse vocational callings as not only compatible with but valuable for the life of ministry.
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Thriving COVO congregations see life change in the individuals who make up their church community and contribute toward building flourishing neighborhoods and cities.