Why do we need networking? First, networking should help us help one another. The closer we are to one another, the more effectively we can understand and support each other. Through networking, we can discover one another’s strengths, weaknesses, and needs. This is especially important when there are weaknesses or challenges in the ministry that need to be addressed.
I have come to believe that the main purpose of networking is nurturing one another. Of course, networking involves sharing news, exchanging information, and communicating with one another. But more fundamentally, networking provides an environment in which we can nurture and strengthen one another.
Every church has different stages of spiritual growth and development. Many churches have training manuals and programs for each stage, such as:
- New Member Class
- Nurturing Class
- Discipleship Training
- Ministry and Service
In many Korean churches, each stage may involve a training course lasting several weeks, often twelve weeks. These programs can be helpful and valuable. However, nurturing does not happen only in a classroom. It can also happen through meaningful relationships and effective ministry networking.
There are many channels through which we can be nurtured: peers, coworkers, pastors and staff members, board members, phone calls, group dynamics, workshops, and informal conversations, among many others. Therefore, we need to open our eyes to the many people and resources God has placed around us.
Sadly, some churches rely too heavily on training manuals, classrooms, and formal coursework. People complete one course after another, receive certificates, and feel proud of having completed several levels of training. I am not criticizing these training programs, nor am I saying that we do not need them. They have an important place in ministry.
My point is simply that classrooms, books, and training manuals are not enough. They often speak primarily to our heads. They may give us new knowledge and fresh ideas, but knowledge alone does not necessarily penetrate deeply into our lives or remain with us for the rest of our lives.
The goal of training should therefore be to move what we learn from our heads into our hearts, and from our hearts into our lives. We need to experience what we have learned through relationships, practice, ministry, and ongoing nurturing.
This is where networking becomes so important. Networking provides countless opportunities for learning, encouragement, correction, sharing, and growth. It connects us with people who can help us become better ministers and better servants of God.
Jesus also used networking very effectively. Throughout the Gospels, we see countless examples of Jesus building relationships, spending time with people, listening to them, teaching them, correcting them, encouraging them, and sending them out to serve. Much of Jesus’ ministry took place not in a classroom but through relationships and everyday encounters.
Therefore, networking is more than exchanging information. Networking is a ministry of nurturing. When we stay connected with one another, we create opportunities to strengthen one another, learn from one another, and grow together in ministry.
Training may begin in the classroom, but nurturing continues through relationships. And one of the most powerful resources for that ongoing nurturing is networking.