4 Things You Must Have To Be Useful In Serving A Ministry

I’ve been on staff at my church for 21 years. I’ve served since I was ten and came on staff at nineteen. Over the years I have watched many come and go. Rise and fall. Talented, wonderful individuals that I wish were still here. Many no longer serve God. Some still attend church but have lost their passion. Others have remained strong and are still fueling growth in others. After 30 years of serving closely and watching ministry life I picked up a few things. I learned these from watching others, but they came alive in me as I had to walk through them myself. Hopefully they will help you as well.

1Be a Christian. I know that seems a bit obvious but I’m not referring to just living good. I’ve seen many extremely talented people come and go because of character issues. In ministry, your skill will make you valuable, but your character will make you indispensable.

3 Relationship with God. Again this seems obvious but let me dig a little deeper into what I mean by relationship. This is not making God part of your life but rather the source of it. That is way different than most “Christians” live and it’s why many Christians are here today and gone tomorrow. So for relationship you need the following:

4Submission. A fire can be useful for many things but left unchecked and it WILL destroy. Imagine a tight formations of fighter planes. All flying synchronized. Thirty or forty planes, all feet from each other. At 700mph. What happens if one pilot decides that since he can go faster he has the right to. Or another decides that his heart is leading him to turn left instead of right as the leader has directed. Death, destruction, and not just to that one pilot. (That’s why good leaders remove those who will not submit.) Rebellion will harm others and break the unity. There is no anointing without unity, no unity without submission, and no submission without sacrifice. If a gift is to be useful, it must be submitted. A disobedient gift is a destructive gift.

Serving in a ministry can be difficult. Of all the things it seems to put pressure on, the heart is by far the most tested and rightfully so. Nothing determines a persons place in life more thoroughly than the heart. But if your heart is wrong, you wont stay put long and no one grows that cannot remain planted. Serving is not easy, but if you allow your heart to be matured by serving you will find yourself able to walk in the Spirit in a whole new level. And you may not see it now, but that is what you are really chasing. That grace empowered, fruit filled, life changing power of God at work in you (personal communion), and through you (fruitful gifts). Be patient, be humble, be steady.

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