Success in Ministry
Doug
My twin brother, Mark, has always been a huge encouragement to me in my faith. As a missionary in Japan, Mark understands what it means to do hard things in a hard place. We often talk about the challenges of ministry and how we want to make a difference for the kingdom. I love his challenge here:
Will you be faithful to your call, even when it seems fruitless? Are you committed to Jesus and His glory in your ministry, and not towards numbers? God is in charge of the results as long as we are simply obedient.
I recall my good friend and mentor as a college student, Jim Luebe, saying, “I just want to be a faithful laborer over time.”
That is my goal as well.
- Read his entire post here
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February 28th, 2009 at 4:59 am
Doug,
It is so good to see you address this issue. In planting a church, we deal with this constantly. Whenever I tell someone we are planting a church the inevitable question asked is “How many do you have coming to your meetings?” This question is very telling about what people perceive as success in ministry. Our members have been studying the scriptures together to define success from the perspective of our King Jesus. We have found the following 12 characteristics to be an accurate picture of what success looks like in ministry:
1. Passion for the Gospel.
2. Love for the saints.
3. Faith and hope.
4. New life in Christ.
5. Good works.
6. Joy.
7. Maturity and discernment.
8. Discipline and holiness.
9. Respect for the Word.
10. Perseverance and suffering.
11. Prayer.
12. Order in the Church/family.
I think no matter how big or small your ministry is, if you get these things right you will hear the words of Jesus: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Chad
March 1st, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Chad,
Great follow-up. I think I will post this to my blog also.
Blessings,
Mark Wolter