Further Study: Evaluating Witnessing and Evangelism
Inviting Others to Join Your Ministry
Have you ever heard of a one-man band? This is a band in which one person plays all the instruments in the band. The drum is strapped to his back and operated by a foot pedal; cymbals are strapped between the knees and so on. In the metaphorical sense, a one-person band is one in which one individual plays all parts.
One-person bands have the potential to burn out because they have no physical or emotional team support. One-person bands sometimes complain about the lack of church support, but the congregation has probably not been asked to be involved in any way other than financially.
Whether you are just beginning a ministry, or evaluating an existing one, the following are some suggestions on how to multiply your ministry by getting others involved:
- Review what is involved in every aspect of the ministry you are undertaking and see how many people could take part.
- Decide on the areas where significant help is needed and look for key people to fill these major roles. Think about some team leaders.
- Prepare a fairly detailed written outline of all aspects of the ministry. This will be useful when talking to prospective team members. They will be able to understand exactly what is required of them.
- Report regularly to the whole church. This will let everyone see that your ministry is a part of the local church’s overall witnessing and evangelism strategy, and they will be more likely to get involved.
- Have regular team meetings. Affirm team members and review progress. Ask the questions, “How have we done?” “How are we doing?” and, “Where to go from here?”
Discussion Questions:
When and how do you cross the line between evaluation and the kind of judgement that we are warned against in Scripture?
Dwell more on the words of Jesus in Matthew 23:15. How can we, as a church, prevent this from happening, especially when new converts are so often full of zeal? How can we make sure that zeal is focused in the right direction so that we don’t create more “ ‘son[s] of hell’ ” in our midst?
Consider a current ministry in your church and suggest a good evaluation process of the program, the process, and the personnel.
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We are NEVER alone....and God MUST be our main support.
From this lesson I get the impression that we should make a list of things to do in our ministry and then go around finding people to do those things. The problem is that as I read about the early ministry of Jesus I don't see Him doing that. What I do see is Jesus creating interest in His ministry through what He was doing. Then after He had a group of followers, and only then, did he call them into ministry as coworkers. What we are generally unaware of is that Jesus didn't make His call by the sea until about one year after His baptism. During that year He built interest and those that would become His disciples were following Him on a part time basis. From those with the greatest interest He eventually made a formal call to ministry.
We see this method of working in His first gathering of prospective disciples:
I think what we need to see here is that His first disciples had a great interest in Him and approached Him - not the other way around. I believe when we go about trying to assign jobs to other people we only end up getting those people aggravated at us because we attempted to be big boss and didn't follow the counsel Jesus gave.
If our ministry is truly effective then I believe others will want to get involved and at that point the organization actually begins.
Amen! That is not leadership to decide what you will do and then pick people to do it. That is called "dictatorship". Jesus didn't lead that way and I don't think He wants His followers to either.
Cindy, actually I didn't write what I did with a "who" /"what" debate in mind. I understand what you are saying and I don't disagree. I do think that a church has to consider both together to some degree. I believe they work together even though generally the "what" needs to follow the available resources.
What Jesus did was to create interest (He already knew the what) and then chose disciples from those most interested in His ministry. That is far different than going around prodding people for involvement after deciding the what - even if the church, as a whole, has made the decision.
Furthermore, to me the word "pick" is like doing things the army way, "I need three volunteers - you, you, and you." That may seem ridiculous but I have seen something very close to that happen in church. If not that, then the shame approach is usually adopted in order to get volunteers.
I believe after 43 years my first responsibility is to God's people in the Church we need to get along according to Paul in 1 Cor 1:4-21.
I agree Alex. However, was Paul wrong when he opposed the theology of salvation by works within his church? I do believe we should get along whenever possible but there comes a time when compromise does more harm than good.
You missed my point I was not saying to compromise anyway!!
The bulleted points given are contrary to what is written above. If the top part is called "A one man band" then point #2 sounds like a "one man puppet show". I have seen this kind of "leadership" and it is not the best way to lead. Putting the "what" before the "who" will never quite lead to the intended results. If you pick the "who" first, then the "what" can grow out of the passion of those chosen. 12 men were able to turn the world upside down after praying at Pentecost.