There are 10 Core Principles for ministry teamwork that our church staff has adopted. These 10 have helped our staff through our most excited days and challenging setbacks. I’ve already shared the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd principles in previous posts. Here I will share our 4th – which is People Work Over Paper Work.
1. Always STOP to give the Gospel
At times we can become so overwhelmed with performing the details of ministry that we forget the main purpose of ministry. I’ve noticed on several occasions our Administrative Pastor (Fred Murray) stop his busy schedule to sit with a business owner, contractor, or sales person to give them the good news of Jesus Christ. Understand – this is a man who loves paper work! I think that he dreams about files, labels, and color-coded post-its. But he seldom forgets to look at the people around him as souls that might not know Jesus.
2. Hour Talking to a Person is Worth 2 of Filing Paper
As mentioned in the previous post, we believe that organized systems are absolutely essential to the success of any organization. Yet a church will not thrive unless it remembers its primary focus is people – not paper. This means you have to get out of the office and into the coffee shop. You have to set up meetings in order to look another human being in the eye and ask how they are doing and what you can do to help. Talk to people. Pray with people. Break bread with people.
3. Beware of the Same 10
This is huge. There are some people in the church with whom you’re going to naturally connect. Beware of continually meeting with ONLY these people. There are certain people in our church that I could meet with EVERY week, have a two-hour stimulating conversation, and desire to schedule another meeting two days later. However, this is not wise. There are many other members who need your time and counsel.
Here is another reason. As you monopolize the time of these “10” they are unable to effectively reach out and help others. Your goal as a minister is successful shepherd as many as you can to shepherd others. Do as Jesus did. You spend time with them and train them to spend time with others.
A minister who is more comfortable behind the pulpit than he is at a booth in Panda Express is going to limit his ministry. Too many hours alone in the office and too few in the community with people will be detrimental. Next week I will share Core Principle #5 – Enjoy Your Work.
Which of these ideas resonated with you most? What would you add to this post that I have left out? Comment Below:
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