Three Ships

Dr. Eric Hallett mentions a model by J. D. Greear that compares Christian attitudes toward the church to three different kinds of ships. Let’s take a moment to think about these three different models as a tool for examing the missional reach of your church.

The Cruise Ship

The first model that Greear mentions in his book, Gaining by Losing, is a cruise ship model. People come to church. Hopefully, they get fed. There are luxuries there for the whole Christian family – sports, entertainment, childcare. The implied attitude toward church is that it is about me. What can I get out of this church? What’s in it for my family?

On the one hand, it is not wrong for the church to feed those who come to it. It is not wrong for those who go to church to leave encouraged and recharged to face another week in the world. If God is not able to use the church to meet many of our deepest needs, there is probably something wrong with our church. But doesn’t God expect more from his church and his people?

The Battleship

Whether consciously or not, Greear’s imagery does seem to think of the church’s mission in terms of war. There are certainly churches that seem to feed off of battle. Each sermon aims and fires at another target. Some churches seem to exist to fight culture wars.

However, Greear probably has something a little less combative in mind. He seems to be thinking primarily about evangelism. His battleship is a church that is doing all the evangelism itself with a goal of gathering people to itself. It is doing all the work of ministry itself in its own context without much sending out. 

The Aircraft Carrier

The title of his book, Gaining by Losing, is hinting at the strategy his is suggesting is more productive. He uses the model of an aircraft carrier to picture it. Aircraft carriers preferably are not directly involved in battles. Instead, they are a launching pad for planes to go to where the battles are. The church loses members because they are going to launch new ministries elsewhere. Then, ideally, those churches eventually become aircraft carriers themselves.

In his overview, Dr. Hallett talks about Pastor Jeb, who “sacrificed” some of the people in his congregation in Toronto to go plant a church less than an hour away in Whitby. They sacrificed their time, having to get up earlier on Sunday to get to the church plant. They lost some people, because they now attend the other church. But as a result, the kingdom of God will have more people in it than it would have.

Your church might prayerfully consider this launching pad strategy. Are there individuals in your church who might feel led to plant a church somewhere within the reach of your current church? Are there individuals who would sacrifice their time and resources? Are there individuals who would pray? God may not call every church to be an aircraft carrier, but he does call us to be willing!