Ministry is too important to be done haphazardly. We can’t just say, “I’ll give it my best shot!” We need to think them through. Ministries must be good stewards of all they’ve been given, so plan strategically. Here are seven important questions any healthy ministry should be able to answer:
- Why are we here? Have a clear idea of what the ministry is all about; write a ministry purpose statement. What is the business of this ministry? And what is none of this ministry’s business?
- What purpose of the church does the ministry fulfill? Every ministry should be tied to at least one of the five purposes of the church. Is the ministry designed to exalt Christ (worship), reach out to the community (evangelism), deepen relationships within the church (fellowship), build people into Christian maturity (discipleship), or serve the needs of the church family (ministry)?
- Who are we trying to reach? Determine specifically who should benefit from the ministry, i.e. the Community, the Crowd, the Congregation, the Committed, the Core, or the Commissioned. You can’t hit a target you don’t know you have!
- Where is God calling the ministry to be in six months? Dream! Ask ministry leaders to get away with God and talk to him about the ministry’s future.
- How does the ministry do what it has been called to do? Systems have to work properly to be healthy. Think and pray about how to do ministry more effectively.
- Who can we partner with to accomplish the ministry? Leaders need to constantly look for people who God is sending to join them in ministry.
- In what way(s) do we serve people? Is the ministry meeting physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual needs (or a combination thereof)? Part of understanding the identity of the ministry is to know how it serves people. Look for ways you can add value to the services those ministries provide.
Rick Warren, Adapted from Seven Questions to Ask Every Ministry Leader , Christian Post 2/27/08
