Happy day after Labor Day! Hopefully you chose not to labor. This week I want to explore what I feel are 3 nonnegotiable keys to effective ministry. There is nothing to follow that is new or earth shattering, but, based on the lack of at least one of these 3 in most ministries, I don’t think it will hurt if I revisit these things here. Today I’ll quickly define the 3 keys and then over the next 3 days I will delve deeper into them. I firmly believe that no ministry can reach it’s maximum, God-sized potential if any one of these 3 things is missing: surrender, strategy, and systems.
Surrender, for this discussion, is the same as the mission or purpose that you have all read or heard about in both spiritual and secular leadership books and arenas. It is the definition of what you exist for. It is the destination you want your people to reach. It is the one truth that all things in your ministry or business are ultimately compared and judged against to decide if something is successful. However, I feel that there is something foundational that has to happen before we chart our destination: surrender to God’s will. It has to be God’s purpose or mission for your ministry, not yours.
Strategy is the road you build to guide your people to get to the destination (or purpose) that you feel that God is leading you to lead them towards. If you’re purpose is to make people more like Jesus, your strategy may be to do so through service. If you goal is to reach the lost, your strategy may be through culturally relevant worship environments. It is the course you lay out for your people, and like travel itineraries it has to be clearly communicated.
Systems are the vehicles you design and build to carry your people down the road. This is literally where the rubber meets the road and ultimately where the details matter. You have to look at your people’s needs and locations in reference to the ultimate destination, and then create effective vehicles to get them there.
Again, 1 or 2 out of 3 just won’t get it done. Over the next few days we will look at each key in more detail, and look at ways that you can grade your ministry in each area. I’m excited!
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