RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Do you want to make an impact as a ministry leader?  We all do, don't we?

That's a big reason why we are serving in ministry.  We want to know that our time, energy and efforts are making a difference.

Recently, I was reading Paul's ministry advice to Timothy.  One specific verse caught my attention.  Paul shares with Timothy 4 keys to making an impact. And it's found in 4 words in the verse.  Check it out.

"As for you, always BE sober-minded, ENDURE suffering, DO the work of an evangelist, FULFILL your ministry."                   2 Timothy 4:5 

Notice that the first key is to BE.  Paul emphasizes BEING before DOING.  Making an impact starts with leading yourself well. 

If you will be who you are supposed to be, you will do what you are supposed to do.

Leaders who make an impact lead from the inside out.

This means walking with God and having a growing relationship with Him.

This means guarding your heart against lust, bitterness, resentment, envy and other spiritual diseases that can take you down.

Are you like me?  When you fly on an airplane, do you zone out when they start explaining all the pre-flight safety instructions?  I mean, I know how to buckle my seat belt.  But there is one part of the instructions that always catches my attention.

It's when they talk about the cabin pressure dropping.  They explain that when the cabin pressure drops, air masks will drop from above you.  They go on to explain that if you are traveling with a child, you should first put the mask on yourself before trying to help the child.

Why do they say this?  Because you can't help the child, if you pass out from lack of oxygen.

This is what Paul is talking about when he says to BE.  If you are going to impact others with the life-giving message of Jesus, you must first be spiritually healthy yourself.  As you walk with Jesus and are filled with His life-giving presence, you will be empowered to impact those around you.

Here's what Paul said to Timothy in an earlier passage.

"Keep a close watch ON YOURSELF and on the teaching.  Persist in this for by so doing you will save yourself and your hearers."                  1 Timothy 4:16

Your impact will come as an overflow of being who God has called you to be.

The next key Paul mentions is found in the word ENDURE.  Enduring is about lasting in ministry.  You see significant impact doesn't happen overnight.  It takes time.

"Those who make a significant impact in ministry are those who last in ministry."

The way you last in ministry is first being who you are supposed to be, like we talked about above.  And then it's finding a pace that you can sustain for the distance.  You see, ministry is not a sprint, it's a marathon.

Significant impact is going to be the compound effect of faithfully serving and investing in people for not just a year or two, but for decades.

Enduring means not quitting.  Enduring means being faithful.  Enduring means keeping your eyes on the finish line.  Enduring means continuing even when you are down, discouraged or depressed.

The third key Paul talks about is found in the word DO.  And what does it say we should be doing if we want to make an impact?  The work of an evangelist.

The most important thing we do is share the Gospel with people.  It's the Gospel that impacts people's lives for eternity.

You can do a lot of things in ministry.  But if you want to make a big impact, then make sharing the Gospel your priority.  Make it the main thing you DO.

The fourth and final key word Paul shares is FULFILL.  Fulfill what?  He says to fulfill your ministry.  See it?  YOUR ministry.

All of us have a tendency to look at other people's ministry, don't we?  Comparing our ministry to someone else's.  Envying someone else's ministry.  Wishing we could have someone else's ministry.

When we compare our ministry to other people's ministry, it has two affects.  It brings pride if we think our ministry is making a bigger impact than someone else's.  Or it brings discouragement if you think your ministry is making less of an impact than someone else's.

"God wants to use YOU to make an impact - not your version of someone else." 

God has a unique ministry just for you.  You are called to run in your lane, not someone elses.  God has called you to finish your course.  He wants to use you to make a unique impact.

So there you have it.  The 4 keys to making a big impact.

BE who you are suppose to be.

ENDURE in your ministry.  Last.  Go the distance.

DO the work of sharing the Gospel.

FULFILL the unique calling God has on your life.

Do these 4 things and you'll make an impact, the magnitude of which you won't fully realize until you're in heaven.

I was reading the words of Paul this week in 2 Timothy and something jumped out at me.

"As you know, everyone from the province of Asia has deserted me—even Phygelus and Hermogenes.  May the Lord show special kindness to Onesiphorus and all his family because he often visited and encouraged me.  He was never ashamed of me because I was in chains. When he came to Rome, he searched everywhere until he found me.  May the Lord show him special kindness on the day of Christ’s return.  And you know very well how helpful he was in Ephesus."  2 Timothy 1:15-18

Paul wrote these words about a man named Onesiphorus.  He said Onesiphorus was an encourager.  Though Onesiphorus is only mentioned briefly in Scripture, he left a great legacy.  A legacy of encouraging others.  In this passage, we see the marks of an encourager.

An encourager walks in when everyone else walks out.  Paul wrote these words from a prison cell in Rome.  Chained like a common criminal, he sits in a cold dungeon.  He is alone.  It seems everyone else has walked out on him.  He says so in verse 15, lamenting the fact that even those he counted on the most...Phygelus and Hermogenes...had deserted him.  Everyone had walked away from him...except Onesiphorus.  When everyone else left, he stayed.  

Anyone can say nice things when everything is going well.  Anyone can jump on the bandwagon of success.  But it's in someone's darkest hour that a true encourager emerges.  It's when you are in chains, an encourager appears.  Whether it's chains of addiction, affliction or assault, they rally to you.  When everyone else has written you off, an encourager writes your name on their schedule.  An encourager walks in when you are down for the count.  An encourager walks in with hope when you have lost all hope.  An encourager refuses to write you off when everyone else has.  An encourager believes in you when everyone else has lost faith in you.  An encourager cheers for you when everyone else is booing.

An encourager does so with his or her words.  If only we realized just how powerful our words are.  An encourager speaks hope.  An encourager speaks affirmation.  An encourager speaks the truth in love with the intent of helping us become a better person.  An encourager uses his or her words to build up rather than tear down.  An encourager says "you got this" when everyone else is doubting you.

An encourager does so through acts of kindness and service.  Paul also says that Onesiphorus "SHOWED him kindness."  A true encourager not only encourages through words, but through their actions as well.  An encouraging note left on the desk of a co-worker.  A meal brought to someone who's had a rough week.  A tank of gas bought.  A yard mowed for someone who's had surgery and is recovering.  You can encourage with words and make an impact, but when you couple it with an act of encouragement, the impact it makes is exponential.

An encourager looks for opportunities to encourage others.  Paul said that Onesiphorus "searched everywhere until he found me."  Rome was a big city.  I wonder how many jails Onesiphorus had to go to before he found Paul?  It took him awhile, because Paul said he searched everywhere until he found him.  Onesiphorus was intentional about looking for the person he wanted to encourage.

Yes.  Sometimes an opportunity to encourage someone will fall into the lap of an encourager.  But most of the time, the encouragement is the result of the encourager being intentional.  An encourager starts their day by asking God to give them an opportunity to help someone.  An encourager keeps their eyes on the needs of others more than on their own personal needs.  An encourager is led in real time by the Holy Spirit to divine appointments.   

An encourager goes the distance with people.  Paul also says that Onesiphorus "often" visited him.  Many times, when someone is grieving the loss of someone, the hardest time is not immediately after the person passes, but a few weeks later.  Why?  That's normally when people stop calling and supporting them as much.  As life goes on, people get caught back up in the whirlwind and forget to keep encouraging.  

But encouragement like Paul is talking about is not a one and one.  It goes the distance with people.  It says "I'm on this journey with you all the way to the end."  Onesiphorus encouraged Paul through his time in prison and even to his execution.  

An encourager commits to staying with someone for the long haul.  It says "no matter what happens, no matter how rough things may get, no matter what we face,  no matter where the road takes us, I will be by your side."

An encourager does so just by being there.  The verse also says Onesiphorus often "visited" Paul.  He came and spent time with Paul.  There will be times as an encourager, when you won't know what to say.  There will be times when the situation the person is facing is so overwhelming that it will overwhelm you as well and will leave you speechless.  There will be times when your words will seem so empty and shallow when compared to the gravity of the problem the person is facing.  When that happens, its okay.  Sometimes the only encouragement you can offer people is your presence.  The person won't remember what you said anyways.  But they will remember that you were there.  They will remember that you cried with them.  They will remember that you held their hand.  They will remember that you hugged them.  They will remember that you held them up as they were overwhelmed and knocked down by grief and pain.  

At times, this is just what God does for us as well, isn't it.  Remember what He says in Psalm 23?

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear, for you are with me."

Notice that God doesn't promise to give us all the answers in the moment.  He doesn't promise that we will understand everything at the time.  He doesn't promise to take the hurt and pain away in the moment.  But what He does promise is to be with us.  And as an encourager, you can be God's arms of love and support wrapping around the person...even when you have no answers or words that are adequate enough to share.  Notice, Paul doesn't say exactly what Onesiphorus said.  Perhaps he didn't remember.  But he did remember that he came and was with him.  

I take comfort in this, because I have often been in situations where I didn't know what to say.  I'll never forget what happened two years ago.  I was on my way home, when my cell phone rang.  A girl in our church, who was a senior in high school, had just been killed in a car wreck.  She was on her way home from school, when a reckless driver had run a stop sign and hit her at a high rate of speed.  She had been killed instantly.  Her family had just received the news at their home.  I was to go and try to comfort them.  I walked into that house not knowing what to say and feeling so inadequate.   All I could do was hug them, cry with them and pray with them.  I didn't try to use any cute "Christian sayings" like "All things work together for good" or "she's in a better place" or "God called her home."  I don't remember what I prayed and I'm sure they don't either.  It was all a blur at the time.  But one thing for sure.  I was there.  

I want to be an encourager, don't you?  I want to be like Onesiphorus and leave a legacy of encouragement, don't you?  Let's start looking for opportunities to be an encouragement.  Everyone you meet needs encouragement.  Everyone you meet has fears, insecurities, problems and struggles beneath the surface.

Lets start being intentional about doing acts of encouragement.  Let's walk in and start encouraging the person whom everyone else has forsaken.  Let's go the distance with those we are encouraging.  Let's encourage with our presence even when we don't know what to say.   

Encourage someone today! 

We've talked before about not letting your children's ministry get stuck in the past and becoming irrelevant.  You can read more about that here.

But with today's rapid changes accelerating, it's not enough to avoid protecting the past.  You must avoid protecting the present.

Here's some signs you're protecting the present...

• You're not taking a hard look at your processes, programs and events. 

• You're not asking for feedback.

• You're ignoring trends and shifts in the culture. 

• You say, "If it's not broken...don't fix it."

• You're growing content and complacent. 

• Your hesitant to try something new.

• You aren't taking any steps that will take your ministry to the next level.

If this is the case, then it's time to shift and start preparing for the future. 

• Regularly evaluate everything you're doing.  

• Ask for feedback from volunteers, parents and kids. 

• Stay in tune with notable trends and shifts in the culture.

• Be willing to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. 

• Plan for growth not just maintenance.

• Write down where you want the ministry to be in 1 year.  From this, create a strategy to take it there.

What got you where you are now won't take you where you need to go in the future.  Be thankful for what God is doing now but be like Paul when He said, "I press on for the high calling of Christ Jesus."

In 1 Samuel 16, God tasked Samuel with identifying the next king of Israel.  He told him it would be one of the sons of Jesse.

When Samuel arrived at Bethlehem, he took one look at the tall and handsome Eliab and thought he must be the one.

But God said no...he may appear to be the most likely to succeed...but he's not my choice.

Down the line Samuel went...seven sons...seven likely choices...seven "no's" from God.

"Any more sons?" Samuel asked.  There was one more...but he was the youngest.  Given the lowly job of watching the stinky, dirty sheep...was David...the most unlikely child to be chosen as king.  So unlikely they didn't even bother bringing him to the draft.  But God made it clear to Samuel that David was the one. 

If a vote were taken, who would be considered the most unlikely kid to succeed in your ministry?  You know...the kid no one thinks will make it.  The kid that's an outcast.  The kid that comes from a horrible home life.  The kid that withdraws and doesn't want to participate.  The kid that none of the other kids like.  The kid that the teachers consider a "troublemaker."  The kid that acts out in class.  The kid that is known by the other kids as a "loser."  The kid that isn't popular. 

That's the kid God has His eye on.  That's the kid God has big plans for.  That's the kid God wants to use in unbelievable ways.

God loves to take the most unlikely to succeed and turn them into success stories through His power. (tweet this)

Paul said it so well in 1 Corinthians 1.

"Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you.  Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise.  And He chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.  God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.  As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God."

May God give us His eyes to see the great plans He has for the unlikely kids in our ministry.  May we listen to His voice as He guides us to the unlikely kids He has chosen to use in unbelievable ways.  May we be like Samuel and speak words of encouragement, anointing and blessings into their lives.

One of the dangers of serving in ministry for a long period of time is complacency.  The natural bent is to slide toward complacency.

As we look to Paul as a role model in ministry, we see that he maintained a sense of urgency instead of complacency.

Remember his words in Philippians 3?  He said, " I PRESS ON toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."  These are the words of a man on an urgent mission.

How do you keep your sense of urgency?  Here's 5 keys. 

Keep your focus on those who do not yet know Jesus.  Complacency sets in when you get satisfied with the number of people who are attending your church.  That's not what we must be focused on.  We must stay focused on people in our community who don't know Jesus.  The issue is not how many people are attending your church.  The issue is how many people in your community are not attending church anywhere.

Stay close to those who are urgent.  Urgency spawns urgency.  Find people either inside or outside of your ministry who have a sense of urgency and spend time with them.  Their passion will rub off on you.

Look at the future instead of the past.  One sign of complacency is talking more about the past than the future.  Honor the past but always be looking to the future.  What happened yesterday is in the past.  God wants to do something fresh and new in your life and ministry.

Set goals.  One practical way to keep a sense of urgency is to set goals.  Setting attendance goals, spiritual steps goals and other measurements will keep stretching you.

Be the thermostat instead of the thermometer.  Everything rises and falls on leadership.  If you, as the leader, are complacent the ministry will be complacent.  It's your job to keep adding fuel to the fire.

Our calling is urgent.  So much is at stake.  We only have a short window of opportunity to reach kids and families.  Let's keep pressing for the prize God has for us.