‘Everyone Gets to Play’

One of the things that I like the most about the Vineyard Movement is the ‘Everyone Gets to Play philosophy and ministry model. This is the principle of decentralized ministry; training and equipping all believers to pray for one another and for anyone (in or out of church) needing Jesus. John Wimber taught this idea extensively at the very beginning of our movement and planted it as foundational to our spiritual DNA .

Here's a discussion of that value at the Deep Church blog.

To me, ‘everyone gets to play’ is rooted in the belief that ‘doing ministry’ is not to be the sole prerogative of ‘the leader’, the big name superstar who was so often a feature of individualistic charismatic and pentecostal ministries in the twentieth century. It’s sad, but not hard to see why Christians from time-to-time get drawn towards an iconic, sparkly-eyed, dualistic figure who seems to live in a realm somewhere in-between the real world and the heavenly places, dispensing other-worldly wisdom and anointed ministry, and upon whose mystical spirituality one can but gaze in awe. Someone who has a ‘special anointing’ and is far closer to God than ordinary people, especially if one believes God is located on another planet. Some of us grew up with the assumption that – whether in a local meeting or on the big stage at some national event – this was essentially what anointed Spirit-filled Christianity was all about. Oh, how God must long for more such leaders, we thought. Oh, to be ‘not of this world’ in the same way ourselves. Surely this is what Jesus must have been like.

Parody the front-of-house superstar though one might (or as I would argue, one should), there are some serious theological points here concerning the priesthood of all believers and the way God gives the gifts of his Spirit to the church. It touches on the very essence of the human relationship with God and with one another within his Body. It has to do with our understanding of how God moves in us, through us and among us (plural) as a Christian community, not just in and through me as an individual.....

....It is biblically impossible to be a one-person ministry; at least, it is if we expect more than a tiny minority of the Spirit’s gifts to be present in that ministry. God has decided that only in community will all of the gifts be visible. If we want to see the full anointing of the Spirit, it will only be visible in us as a community. Only when we are together with others are we able, collectively, to reflect the full gifts of the Spirit. He gives them to each one, not to just one. How then can we limit those who ‘get to play’, if only God knows to whom he has determined to give each gift

Read the whole thing - It's worth it!

At our church we teach what we call "the ministry class" a couple times each year. Therefore, we have college students, new Christians, redeemed alcoholics, and all other kinds of people trained to pray for the sick, hurting and needy, and active in doing the Jesus stuff. Isn't that a wonderful way to do church!