Motivation?

Recently at our executive committee and church council meetings we have talked about how we might get more people involved in our congregation, in our various programs. I kind of like that, but I wonder if we have gone far enough in examining our true motivation. What I see is an effort to bring more people in to fill up the offering plates to bring us out of debt and therefore we can continue to sustain the institution. Shouldn't there be something more? It is true that if we remove the cloud of debt from over us we will be more free to do ministry, but will that cloud ever be totally gone?

I believe our focus should be on ministry. I believe our motivation for something like getting more people involved should be for the sake of more people getting learn of God's saving grace and incredible love and forgiveness... for the sake of introducing people to Jesus, for nurturing a lasting relationship with our Lord. How different might our efforts look if that was our motivation? How different might our results turn out?

What is the purpose of our congregation (and the larger church really)? Is it to perpetuate ourselves our is it to be a conduit through which God works to touch and change peoples lives?