Table of Contents
Fruitfulness as effectiveness and efficiency
Church History and Pastoral Vision
Last week’s post examined the Church as an ecosystem, using the diocese as an example. Today’s post focuses on pastoral vision, which helps engender pastoral fruitfulness.
Fruitfulness as effectiveness and efficiency
I chose the term ‘fruitfulness’ to encompass both ‘efficiency’ and ‘effectiveness’. As the maxim goes, “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” In pastoral ministry, pastoral effectiveness focuses on whether the priest is fulfilling the Church’s true mission and being faithful to the Gospel. Hence, a priest is effective when people grow in faith and holiness, the sacraments are properly celebrated, the sick are visited, vocations emerge, and the community as a whole deepens their relationship with Christ. As Jesus says, “By their fruits you shall know them” (Matthew 7:16).
On the other hand, efficiency focuses on how well resources, time, structures, and processes are managed. It concerns organisation, administration, budgeting, scheduling, delegation, communication systems, workflow, and the use of personnel and technology. An efficient priest avoids unnecessary waste in administration, properly organises the institution he manages, uses competent personnel, and delegates responsibilities wisely.
Since the Church is the Body of Christ and the mission of the Church is the holistic salvation of all, effectiveness must come before efficiency. Efficiency is to serve the mission, not the other way round. Yet, the two are important because a priest can be well organised (efficient) but spiritually shallow and unfruitful (ineffective). On the other hand, a priest can be very pastoral and fruitful (effective) but administratively chaotic (inefficient)—a reality which undermines his effectiveness. Efficiency serves effectiveness because, by organising schedules and administrative systems efficiently, a priest manages his energy and time, enabling him to be truly effective in shepherding the faithful entrusted to him.
Hence, pastoral fruitfulness is integrating the two because an effective priest needs efficiency to be more fruitful, and an efficient priest needs the spiritual foundation to advance the mission of the Church; in other words, administrative wisdom in the service of spiritual transformation.
Vision and Mission
The vision of every institution concerns its aspirations and the long-term goal it intends to achieve. Vision differs from mission—the institution’s core purpose, values, and activities to achieve that vision. The Church’s mission is the salvation of souls, codified in canon law as the supreme law (can. 1752).
The Church’s mission goes back to the salvific mission of Christ, her founder. This salvific mission is summarised in Christ’s words: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). This abundant life is a holistic salvation of all. Holistic salvation encompasses both temporal and spiritual salvation, reflecting the physical and spiritual dimensions of the human person.
Therefore, although mission and vision are distinct, the Church’s mission contains an eschatological horizon that also functions as her ultimate vision: that all may be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4; John 3:16-17). Jesus’ establishment of the Eucharist and the priesthood enables future generations to partake in his salvific sacrifice on the cross for sin and death. This salvific mission is also the purpose of the Church and a determinant of the values and activities that help achieve the salvation of all.
Pastoral Vision: Meaning
Within the Church’s vision, there could be a sub-vision: a pastor’s vision geared towards the salvific mission of Christ and the Church. A pastor is a priest who, by office, is entrusted with the care of souls (cura animarum) and exercises the power of governance over a public juridic person in the external forum. In this reflection, the term pastor refers broadly to those entrusted with the care of souls and the governance of ecclesial communities or institutions, whether bishops, parish priests, religious superiors, seminary rectors, or others exercising pastoral responsibility (cann. 375 §1, 383 §1, 381 §2, 515 §1 & 516 §1). Hence, some English translations of the Code of Canon Law describe the parish priest (parrochus) as pastor.
Therefore, by pastoral vision, I mean the pastor’s perception of the future spiritual and temporal well-being and growth of the people entrusted to his care, together with the priorities that guide efforts toward that goal.
This vision must be implemented within the framework of the Church’s teachings, her governance structure, and her administrative norms.
Jesus emphasised the need for this strategic planning in his parable on the cost of discipleship. He gave the example of someone who intends to build a tower but must first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it. Jesus also gave another instance of a king who goes out to wage war against another king and must consider whether, with ten thousand soldiers, he can challenge the other king who comes with twenty thousand. (Luke 14: 28-33).
Church History and Pastoral Vision
Throughout her history, the Church has always emphasised and demonstrated the need for strategic planning to carry out her salvific mission effectively and efficiently. This is seen in the development of norms and in the establishment of institutions and offices to help carry out this mission. The first clear strategic planning is the selection of deacons to assist in the daily distribution of food, because the apostles discovered that, in light of the increase in the number of disciples, they could no longer effectively and efficiently carry out the distribution of food while devoting themselves to prayer and the serving of the word. Establishing the diaconate provided a long-term strategic solution to this problem (Acts 6:1-6).
The Jerusalem Council, the first council in the Church, was convened to address the issue of Gentile circumcision (Acts 15:1-21) and, in so doing, established a system to accommodate the ever-increasing non-Jewish membership of the Church. All other councils and synods have been geared toward providing a roadmap for the Church to address present challenges and a pathway to effectively carry out her mission in the future, whether for the universal or the particular Church.
Conclusion
Pastoral vision is indispensable to pastoral fruitfulness because engendering the holistic salvation of souls requires more than good intentions. There is a need for a clear perception of the future one seeks to build, prudent planning, and the wise stewardship of the resources entrusted to the Church. Next week examines pastoral vision and risks.
May God continue to help us🙏🏾
K’ọdị🙋🏾♂️
