If your days are like mine, they are filled with planning the year. I would like to share with you a few things I have learned about ministry in the past few years.
1. Methods of ministry are changing faster than we can keep up with them. The gospel is the same, but the world around us has changed and we must adapt to the language of this post modern world. People are just as hungry, just as lonely and just as needy, but they speak a different language. Most churches have adapted their message for church people. Most people have to have at least some church background to even understand how we talk. We use terms in church they do not hear in the business world.
2. I am becoming more and more fascinated with churches that offer more than one type of worship service. To be honest with you, I was against that idea for years and thought it would divert you from your calling, fragment the church and create competition from within. I am forced to re-think these ideas. The fastest growing churches in America are churches that offer lots of services at convenient times. One church in South Carolina has 3 sanctuaries that are attached the same lobby. They are three totally different experiences of church “at the same time.” While this is hard to imagine, it forces us to re-think who we target with the gospel.
3. I attended one of the Catalyst conferences last year and to be totally honest, there were only one or two sessions that I felt were life altering for me, but both sessions were worth the whole trip. One session was on momentum. The key to Momentum is “NEW.” New things create excitement and give you “Big MOMENTUM.” The second thing that stretched me was a single question. The question was, “What is the median age of your staff, the median age of your volunteers and the median age of your congregation?” I do not want a church that targets only the youth culture. That’s not for me. I believe in multi-generation ministry which I think is the Biblical model for blessing, favor and legacies. However, a day may come when you have to intentionally add an age group to your staff and leadership in order to change the median age of your church. The median age of most growing mega churches is 34-37. Do the math and see where you are. Answering that question has motivated me in the right direction.
4. Finally, I am learning that God cares more about who I am in private than who I am in public. I want clean hands and pure heart. The Bible says, that when a man’s ways please the Lord, even his enemies will be at peace with him. I am trying to please God more than men. May the Lord, give you the best year you have ever had.
Your Partner in Ministry
