Form verses Function in Ministering the Gospel.

Form is the outward experience that a type of ministry takes in order to minister the gospel to the people of God. Form can change over the years so long as the function of the ministry stays the same. The function of the ministry is vitally important and is essential in it’s nature to properly communicate the message you are preaching in order to convert people and win them to Christ. The function of Christianity is to spread the message that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was resurrected for our justification. The message of the cross is the way we communicate our message to the people, that they must repent and be converted in order to be saved. This is the function that we use, but the way we communicate this message has changed over the years.

Form can also refer to how a church operates, or the ‘forms’ it uses in it’s ministerial patterns in order to communicate a message. Church government usually determines how this is done, but as lay people we can make requests according to our humble positions. Denominations are all different in form and function, and also theology and this is what creates different denominations.

Some churches are liturgical and sacramental in nature, so their form and function would differ greatly from a denomination that is not. There can be certain liberties taken with the approval of the church government of course, but the way a congregation adapts to these changes can either be a positive or a negative reaction. So long as the function of the ministry doesn’t change, then usually the form should be practical or traditional according to the theology of the church.

The form of the ministry should work with and allow the church to function as a church, in order to fulfill the great commission that Jesus left to his followers to carry out. This is Mike.

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