#5 Give Away your Ministry!
Last week I shared part 4 of this series, “Organization is Your Best Friend.” Take a minute to flip back and read that post. It really does set up today’s thought: Give Away Your Ministry!
Ephesians 4:12 says that God gifted us for the “equipping” of the saints for the work of ministry. I don’t read that we’re to do it all ourselves! For way too long some of us (and some of our supervisors) have thought our job as Kids Ministers was to do it all, everything. After all, isn’t that what they pay us to do? The longer I’m in this great work, the clearer it has become that I CAN’T DO IT ALL ALONE and more importantly, GOD DOESN’T WANT ME TO DO EVERYTHING!
I think one of the best compliments I’ve ever received wasn’t given to me while I was actually on staff at one of my former churches but was shared after I left. The pastor shared publically (I wasn’t there but I was told of this and later and it was confirmed) how much he appreciated what I had done while on staff at that church. He shared that my vision casting and equipping those who served in Kids Ministry with me had actually set the church up for the growth it experienced after I left.
Ask yourself this question, “If something happened and I was no longer in the picture, how well would the Kids Ministry in my church function?” That’s a hard question but one that we should ask regularly. We need to be investing, training, and equipping folks to “carry on” way after we’ve “moved on” (whatever that might mean).
Don’t be lazy! You are the leader and you need to be in there “getting after it” with your leadership team, but you need to be equipping folks, mentoring your leadership, and working yourself out of a job! (Don’t get too worried with that last sentence… there will ALWAYS be something for you to do! I promise!!!) Multiply your ministry by leading, equipping, training, and giving your ministry away!
Why didn’t somebody tell me that?
