Spiritually Gifted... Churches?

I have grown up learning about Spiritually Gifted Christians. The basic premise is that God has given us all special gifts, shaping us for a particular ministry. He then uses us not only to fulfill that ministry but to be an example to others, training them in how to minister as well. That all makes sense to me, and I can see God as the great puzzle-maker positioning Christians within churches so that all of the ministry gets done.

Recently I have been taking a step back looking not just at life within my church but life within my city. It began a series of questions such as, "If God positions people within churches to provide for ministry, does He also position churches within cities for the same purpose?" Is there such a thing as a Church Gift? Are churches called to similar but unique purposes?

Someone's first reaction may be to say, "Yes, of course, that make sense." I would argue, however, that most pastors and church leaders do not live this way. In fact, if you ask most pastors what the purpose of their church is they will likely offer you something along the lines of the Great Commission, "Go into all the world making disciples and baptizing them". Though I agree that all churches should and will accomplish this, the real question is "How have you been called to accomplish the Great Commission?"

I am really just beginning this line of thinking in my own life, but from my experience it seems that churches are often shaped by the vision of their pastors. That vision attracts people who are called in-line with the pastor. In this way churches actually take on a "persona" of their own. I think it may very well be that God shapes churches for ministry in this day and age, and that He wants us to work together in unique ways to fulfill the Great Commission in our city. That means not every church will be the Evangelist (seeing thousands come to Christ), not every church will be the Teacher (leading the way in spiritual understanding and communication), not every church will be the Pastor (meeting needs and ministering to individuals). But, if every church is doing its part and working in conjunction with the others... then we will all grow up into the Head, who is Christ.

What would this look like? Well, I have to save something to talk about later this week...