Basic Congregational Program Areas

A church’s educational program will be shaped by several factors: its history, denominational relations, size, location, predominant social class, identity, life stage, and leadership, for example. Below are some essential congregational education program areas common to most churches:

1. Leadership Development

• Continuing education for professional and paid staff
• Calling out and development of lay leadership for organizational and program ministries
• Calling out and development of future leadership

2. Pastoral Care Ministries

• Ministries related to the spiritual care of individual congregational members
• Ministries related to the spiritual care of the larger community
• Ministries related to the spiritual care of families and their members

3. Educational Ministries

• Engaging in discipleship of congregational members
• Teaching the Bible, its content and meaning
• Training the church educators and teachers
• Providing spiritual growth opportunities and programs for church members and potential members
• Providing resources for all church educational ministries
• Planning, supervision, and administration of church educational programs

4. Music Ministries

• Engaging the congregation in participating in the spiritual dimensions of music
• Enhancing, leading, and educating the congregation in corporate and individual worship
• Providing spiritual growth opportunities and programs for church members and potential members through music

5. Outreach Ministries

• Reaching and teaching those outside of the church community
• Proclaiming the Biblical message of Christ and the Church
• Providing the presence of Christ in the community and world

6. Missions Ministries

• Leading the congregation to engage in missions endeavors in the community and world
• Teaching and educating the congregation in denominational missions; its theology and practices
• Training congregational members and groups in missions endeavors
• Providing spiritual growth opportunities and programs for church members and potential members through missions endeavors

7. Congregational Development

• Working to ensure congregational health
• Providing means for the congregation’s organizational effectiveness
• Helping ensure sound and effective administration of the congregational resources
• Helping ensure the viability and relevance of the congregation as a local expression of the Body of Christ.

Selected from A Christian Educator’s Book of Lists by Israel Galindo (Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys, ) You can order the book from the publisher, or from Amazon.com.