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In this episode I chat to Mikey Lynch about the relationship between parachurch ministry and where it fits within a gospel ecosystem. How do church and parachurch ministries relate to each other? What are some pitfalls? And what is a parachurch ministry anyway?
Mikey’s actually in the process of writing a book on this topic. In this episode I ask him what the purpose of his book is, and this was his answer: “To get us to think better and clearer on ministry and mission beyond the local church, so that we can get more gospel ministry happening across the board, in a healthy way that creates a win-win for everybody and more opportunities for people to come to know Jesus.”
Mikey has a long history of involvement with both the local church and also many parachurch ministries. After serving as a local church pastor for almost a decade, he has now spent many years serving as the staff team leader of the Christian group at the University of Tasmania. He’s also heavily involved in other parachurch ministries such as the Geneva Push church planting network, all while continuing to be an active member of his local church as well.
What is a ‘Gospel Ecosystem’?
The phrase ‘gospel ecosystem’ (coined by Tim Keller) refers to the healthy cooperation of many different organisations seeking to reach their city with the gospel of Jesus. We all recognise that it takes more than a single local church to reach an entire city with the gospel. In fact, it takes more than even the combined efforts of all the local churches within a city. In partnership with the local churches there are all kinds of other ministries that work alongside them: campus ministries, school ministries, theological colleges, and more.
That’s why I was so keen to chat to Mikey about the relationship between church and parachurch ministries. It helps us begin to answer this critical question: how can we work together to see the gospel advance, the kingdom grow, so that even outside my institution, as many people as possible will know Jesus on the last day?
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Missed recent episodes of Faith On Campus? Check them out here:
- Episode 1: Flaming Arrows and Talking Donkeys (Perth MYC)
- Episode 2: Leading A Double Life (Jan Bochat)
- Episode 3: Life As A Ministry Apprentice (Jan Bochat)
- Episode 4: Walk-Up Evangelism? “I Love it!” (Jacob Brown)
- Episode 5: What Is Evangelism Team? (Matt Chan)
- Episode 6: A Mini Revival (Mikey Lynch)
