The area we struggle in, however, is taking rejection personally. Even if you are trying to reach out to a friend or family member, their rejection of Christ is a rejection of Him and of the Father, not you. Jesus tells us this Himself:

Luke 10:16 “He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” (NIV)

If you want to grow your ministry, you will need to learn how to prepare for rejection. It may be rejection by someone you know, someone you don’t know, or even someone within your team that won’t accept your love and help. As long as you keep your eyes focused on what God wants you to do, you can be assured that you did your part.

Just remember – the joy found in your ministry must not be based on the outcome, but in the action you take with them at every opportunity.

This is the last of a five part series on the Basics of Ministry

Luke 10:21 “At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.” (NIV)

I’m a product of discipleship. As God could only make happen, a couple decided to handle the altar call for the Sunday that me and my wife accepted Christ. They had been praying for a couple to disciple and He called us that very weekend. As a result, they dedicated their time to helping us learn and understand what it takes to walk with Christ. They also guided us in the essentials, including Ephesians 2:8-9 that today helps me to have a solid foundation in my faith.

Discipleship requires more than just Bible teaching. It requires a dedication to helping others improve their lives, guide them when things go off track, and prepare them to disciple others as they mature.

Our ministries require that we invest more than one or two hours a week alongside others at church helping out. It requires that we focus on raising these “little children” into adults.

Eph 4:12-13 “… to train Christians in skilled servant work, working within Christ’s body, the church, 13 until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.”

How have you built your team to support discipleship? Are you raising your team to become “fully mature adults” in everything they do?

This is the fourth of a five part series on the Basics of Ministry

I sometimes see this house-to-house mentality in volunteers. They join a local church or para-church team to accomplish an amazing vision, only to stop a few weeks or months later when things don’t go their way. Maybe they don’t have the budget they need. Perhaps they are not experiencing the number of workers that they expected. Or perhaps they joined as a staff member but realized that the pay was too low and the benefits didn’t meet their needs.

If we are not focused on the calling of our ministry, we will easily get distracted and become ineffective. As ministry leaders, we are responsible for keeping our ministry focused for our volunteers. This doesn’t mean you need to do the same thing forever, but it does mean you must be responsible for what the team is doing (and if they are doing too much or the wrong thing).

Getting back to the basics of ministry means that we need to adopt focus. Focus your ministry for your volunteers and they will minister to others in amazing ways!

This is the third of a five part series on the Basics of Ministry

This stay small strategy is common in small group ministries today – groups are encouraged to create new groups when they exceed 10-12 members. This prevents groups getting too big and out of control. It also encourages the development of relationships, as bigger groups discourage everyone from getting to know one another.

Does this mean that ministries can’t get bigger? No, but it does mean that the basic unit of your ministry should be small. Ministries should create smaller teams of 2-4 individuals, which are active in their ministry and constantly recruiting new team members. As the team starts to exceed 4 team members on a consistent basis, the team should divide into 2 smaller teams that can minister to one another more effectively.

Taking this approach requires a much different strategy to ministry development than the get big fast approach. It requires that more time be spent preparing your team, as Jesus did. It requires focusing their ministry on people rather than tasks. Finally, it requires that you let go of your direct leadership by raising other leaders to direct each of the smaller teams.

Want to grow your ministry and make a huge impact for the Church? Start by getting small!

This is the second of a five part series on the Basics of Ministry

I can just imagine the amazing conversations between these pairs as they traveled for days to different destinations. They probably discussed in length the various things Jesus taught them and the variety of ways Jesus amazed them. In doing this, they encouraged one another and provided strength to one another during the tough times of their journey.

If you are doing ministry alone, or feel alone in your ministry, cheer up! We are told that the Lord of the harvest will send out more workers if we simply ask. If you are struggling, pray for assistance! God may guide more workers to you, or He may guide you to become a worker in another ministry.

This is the first of a five part series on the Basics of Ministry

Here are the topics we’ll be covering:

1. Basics of Ministry: You are not alone – ministry isn’t for groups of one
2. Basics of Ministry: Stay small – Jesus demonstrated that small teams can make a huge impact
3. Basics of Ministry: Get focused – allowing your team to do too much limits growth
4. Basics of Ministry: Discipleship is essential – ministries require a dedication to discipleship, not just skills and tasks
5. Basics of Ministry: It is not about you – the ups and downs of ministry aren’t built upon you

I look forward to sharing this short series with you!