The Heart of Ministry

By Dr. Terence O. Hayes Sr.

The Heart of Ministry will unfold the engagement and connection of ministry of the preparedness, organization, and administrative skills that are essential for the work of ministry to be modeled in depth from Biblical principles and practices that aligned exclusively from the word of God. The pages are written to personalize ministry that is done in all churches that have the heart, mind, and soul to do it right the first time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: May 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9781973698470

Dr. Terence O. Hayes Sr.

Dr. Terence O. Hayes, Sr., has affectionately and adeptly shared his passion for the work of ministry from the heart. As a student of the word of God he uses principles and models written in scripture to bring to life how to effectively do the work of ministry with the focus of doing God’s work in excellence, strategically, and executed by the wisdom and knowledge from the word of God.

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The

HEART of

MINISTRY

DR. TERENCE O. HAYES, SR.

Copyright © 2023 Dr. Terence O. Hayes, Sr.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means,

graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by

any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author

except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author

and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of

the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of

people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

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views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Scripture marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International

Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible

Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible,

New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale

House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers,

Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard

Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers.

Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and

HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are

models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-9846-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-9847-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023909608

WestBow Press rev. date: 05/24/2023

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to the love of my life, Rhonda L.

Mcduffie-Hayes who has shared the blessings of our lives

together forty-three years of holy matrimony. To all of my

adult children, Sharita (Carl), Terence (Angel), Shawnda,

Alisha (Jarre), Latosha, Troy (Dani), and Tanesha (Brandon);

all of you are greatly loved. To all the Hayes’ grandchildren,

Nana and Papa love you dearly. Lastly, to the Faith Deliverance

Church of God in Christ family, I am humbled to serve you.

Dr. David Hirschman—You are a great

mentor and brother to me.

Dr. Samuel Paul—My big brother!

To my Stephens family—You loved on my siblings and

me after losing our mom-LOVE YOU FOR LIFE!

To my sisters and brother, Rhonda, Karen, Monique, and Craig

To all my pastor friends—We are in this together. Let

this book bless you as it has blessed me writing it.

In loving memory of my dearest mother, Ethel Lee

Hayes; my heartbeat, my father, Thomas Lee Hayes; my

music inspiration. My oldest brother—Stanford-You are

greatly missed. My mother-in-law, Helen D. Mcduffie,

was a sweet and kind woman who loved me dearly.

The Biblical verse that saved my life:

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed

on thee: because he trusted in thee. (Isaiah 26:3, KJV)

Take care of your mental health. It’s

important. Someone depends on you.

Contents

Introduction

The Congregation in a Community

Building a Mass Community to Nurture Congregational Vitality

The Importance of Gaining Internal and External Demographic Data on the Congregation and Community

The Demographics of the Seven Churches

Introduction

Characteristics of a Thriving Congregation

Congregational Sustainability

Organizational Fit with Congregational Needs

Congregational Learning and Congregational Life

Introduction

Leadership, Management, and Administration

Roles and Responsibilities

Power, Authority, and Influence

Major Management Arteries of the Church and Congregational Life

Biography

The Heart of Ministry (A Candid Interview with Dr. Hayes)

Bibliography

Introduction

What is Community?

The community is comprised of the people in the surrounding areas who identify the needs, wants, and mindsets necessary for them to thrive and grow in the neighborhood. Professional people, businesses, and health care facilities bring in state of the art training, health awareness, and the willingness and openness to have an educated dialogue on mental illness today. It takes a concerted effort for stakeholders, executive board members, presidents, and diligent workers to be willing to be the leaders and shakers of every changing landscape and keep the right services in our communities. Technology has reshaped the ways in which business is conducted. However, nothing takes the place of the human touch of the doctors and nurses, healthcare workers, professionals, and the workers and families who occupy the brick and mortar places in the local community.

It Is Time!

The time is here to embrace the design and road map of the twenty-first century. We need to be reminded of the history of how health care, education, parenting, families, churches, and neighborhood facilities will make a difference in the everyday lives of ordinary people. It is our hope that this book will enlighten you and take you on a journey that will be rewarding and life changing in the days to come.

The Congregation in a Community

Introduction

Community is defined as a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. The commonality represents the traditional family of mother and father with children, single parents, older men and women, widows and widowers, divorcés and divorcées, and singles. In a community, the daily preparation of working a nine-to-five job brings about a commotion in the four corners of the neighborhood. Children prepare to attend schools—high school, college, or trade school—for academic purposes. Careers are being selected so that people become productive citizens to live their best lives. However, after it’s all said and done, there is the one place in a community that brings everyone together to look for the same response and calmness, to rest their souls, and to sit in a position to feed the spiritual person: the church.

In a community, a church is known for many physical features, such as the size of the building, a steeple seen from afar, the landscape of trimmed lawns, the stained glass windows, and a distinguished sign advertising a special community event for all. Yes, this is the place. The bumper sticker says it all: I love my church! Loving the church is loving God. Many matters of the heart come against the church, including doctrinal views, denominational views, theological views, and more. The church can be challenged by these points. Of all the many challenges that can come against the church, Jesus Christ made one key declaration about them through his follower Peter: And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it (Matthew 16:18 NIV). This very church is standing in communities across the globe. It has a purpose, it has an identity, and it is not in a crisis, for it is through this church that many lives are affected, touched, and changed.

The content in this book will explore the impact and the influence that the church in a community has in the lives of the men and women who have the discipline and desire to belong to a like-minded family of kindred spirits. Members in a congregation need to have the mind of Christ: In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5 NIV). Relationships create unity, strength, and the heart of belonging to ensure the work of ministry is done at any cost. The content will further reveal the transformational approach a church has in the lives of congregants who want a life-changing experience with Christ, the change agent for all. A transformational church has a straightforward message—a message of hope. The Book of Lamentations reveals that The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him (Lamentations 3:24). Hope is the key that brings serenity and peace to a chaotic situation.

The Importance of Hope

One of the most earth-shattering pandemics hit the world in the winter of 2019 and early 2020. The coronavirus, COVID-19, shook the world. Many churches experienced an awakening and a turning point in navigating the waters of leading churches during these challenging moments in our lifetimes. Leaders had to move forward with hope and faith in God, knowing he was their hope, peace, and protection. Hope was challenged head on, and thousands of lives were lost. How did the world get through this? What made the