Powerful - Prayer
There is power in prayer. You see, nothing of eternal significance happens without prayer. Increase your prayer time individually and corporately and watch God move.
Now this is not always easy to do. Our first instinct is to plan more...try to work things up in our own strength...copy what's working somewhere else. But what we need to do first is get on our faces before God and call out to Him for wisdom and a fresh anointing.
God can accomplish more in 1 second than we can accomplish in 3 months of our own strength.
pOwerful - Outward focus
Over time, if you are not intentional, the focus of the ministry can shift completely inward. This is when the holy huddle forms. The needs of those inside the ministry take precedent over the lostness of those outside the ministry.
You can't spell the Gospel without "go." 2/3 of God's name is Go. Get outside the walls of your church and out into the community. Love. Serve. Invest. Care. Share.
What is on the heart of Jesus? The children and families in your community who don't know Him. It's why He came...to seek and to save those who are lost. When you make His mission your primary mission, He will pour His power out on your ministry.
poWerful - Word of God
The word of God is powerful...sharper than a two-edged sword. The power is not in fun games...not in cool environments...not in flashy videos...not in edgy music. I am not against those things..I use them...but they cannot be the center of our ministry.
Our ministry must be centered on teaching kids God's Word and our curriculum must be grounded in it. Kids must walk out the door with the truth of God's Word embedded in their heart or we have failed them.
powErful - Excellence
Depending first and foremost on prayer and the Word of God isn't an excuse to be lackadaisical. God expects us to give our best. He tells us that whatever we do should be done with all our might. Excellence is found in the details. When you pay fantastic attention to the details, they will add up to powerful results.
powerRful - Raise up volunteers
A powerful ministry is powered by a dynamic volunteer team. How many new volunteers do you need to add to take your ministry to the next level? Set a goal for the next four months and start inviting people. New volunteers will bring energy and excitement to your ministry.
powerFul - Focus
The more focused your ministry is the more powerful your ministry will be. You can do a lot of things nominally or do a few things powerfully. Focus your volunteers. Focus your time. Focus your budget. Focus your vision.
powerfUl - Understand the culture
You won't reach the kids and families of 2015 with a ministry that is operating like it's still 1985. Learn today's kids. Learn how young millennial parents think.
I often use the illustration of a McDonald's kid's meal. The food has remained pretty much the same over the years...hamburger, fries and drink. But the box that contains the food is changed to stay relevant to the culture. If Superman is popular, then the box will reflect that. If Minions are popular, then the box will reflect that. Can you imagine if the box today had Captain Kangaroo on it (I just dated myself). Kids would be saying, "What is that? I can't relate to that."
Our ministry must be like this. The food...God's Word...never changes, but the container we place it in must change to speak the language of the current culture. We must be anchored to the truth but geared for the times.
powerfuL - Leadership
Powerful leadership brings powerful ministry. A ministry will never rise above it's leadership. If you want a 7 ministry, then you've got to be a 7 leader. If you want a 10 ministry, then you've got to be a 10 leader. What areas of your leadership do you want to improve? Improve you and you will improve the ministry.
May we ponder these things. May we practice these things. May we put these things into action. If we will, I believe God will pour out His blessings on our ministries in the next few months.
