The church is about ministry. It does not exist for itself, but for Christ and the accomplishment of God’s purpose in this world. Ministry is done in the name of Christ for the benefit of the world. And so, in addition to the foundational values that answer the question, “Who do we desire to be?” Vallejo International also identifies core ministry values that define how the church desires to act as it accomplishes its tasks, answering the question, “How will we choose to minister?” Ministry values reflect the manner in which we do the ministry God has called us to do. They are to guide our actions.
The apostle Paul teaches us that one “entrusted with God’s work, he must be … disciplined” (Titus 1.7–8 NIV). This is the first declared ministry value of Vallejo International. The idea of discipline has to do with action or behavior that is in keeping with a specific standard. It suggests that a minister has sufficient knowledge and understanding of the demands of ministry, and has chosen to abide by those demands.
Within the church setting, the requirements of ministry are always defined by the character of Christ and a commitment to uphold and advance the gospel in this world. A disciplined minister is one who engages in purposeful, controlled, and rigorous accomplishment of ministry. Little is left to chance or accident. Disciplined ministry exercises proper stewardship in the tapping of all the resources God has entrusted to the church—spiritual gifts, human intellect and strength, property, finances, time. Disciplined ministry calls for doing the right thing in the right way for the right purposes.
God blesses his church with spiritual gifts. Each member of the church is mandated to use his or her gift in ministry. And we all have intellectual abilities and physical energy that can be channeled toward fruitful ministry. We have a building; we have various music and electronic equipment. Are we using them to their fullest potential for ministry? Are we spending our money wisely? And are we faithful in the management of the time that God entrusted to us, or are we wasting his time?
Of course, ministry isn’t just in the church but also, and especially, through the church. Furthermore, ministry is also accomplished by members of the church outside the church setting, yet fulfilled in the name of Christ and for the sake Christ, who is the head of the church. Disciplined ministry occurs when consistency is achieved in all these places of ministry.
—Keith Y. Jainga