Dear Faith,
Let me state the obvious: Faith Lutheran Church and School has had some big struggles over the last few years. And these struggles have led to some frank conversations and difficult decisions about our ministry and mission.
But as we have these important conversations about what we can and cannot do, it is most important to ask why we do what we do at all.
The work of the church is not a practical matter. The church does not operate for profit or to provide some worldly good to people. The church and her ministries are NOT businesses!
The reason for this is that Christ our Lord has given us a treasure of immeasurable value. This is what we are taught in the Gospel of Matthew:
the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. (Matthew 12:45-46)
The Gospel is so priceless that we ought to sell everything we have to gain it. We ought even to give up our lives to retain it.
Moreover, our Lord has called us to give this treasure away to others, for FREE! We are not to profit on the ministry of the Gospel. As Jesus says,
You received without paying; give without pay. Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, (Matthew 10:8-10)
Not only is there no temporal gain from the ministry of the Gospel, but instead, we are called to sacrifice our own hard-earned income, so that we can give away the eternal treasure of the Gospel at no cost to those whom the Holy Spirit draws to Himself.
Note well, dear friends, that none of this makes sense as a business proposition. It only works because God is generous and He calls His people to be generous.
So back to the question at hand: Why does the church operate a school?
It is emphatically NOT because it makes any business-sense to do so. Nor is the solution to our present struggle found in a clever business plan.
Don’t get me wrong! We should have a plan. We should be shrewd and wise in our use of God’s resources, and mindful of the opportunities and threats to our work. But at the same time, we should never, ever forget that our work is Gospel-work. It is the work of eagerly giving away the treasure of Christ and the forgiveness of sins. It is work that is fundamentally sacrificial because it is born of the sacrifice of Christ’s body and blood for us on the cross. And it will never actually make sense from a business perspective, THANKS BE TO GOD!
So again, Why does the church operate a school?