MinTools Blog » Ministry Resources

Ministry Leadership Resources Abound

MinTools — Mon, 09 May 2011 12:00:46 +0000

Resources abound to help equip and provide ideas for today’s church and ministry leaders. A variety of avenues exist for leaders to learn how to lead effectively.

Learn from other churches and ministries’ experiences.
Remember, though, to tailor what you do to the specific needs and resources of your group.
Learn from books and articles in journals and online.
Remember, though, to filter all that you read through the grid of Scripture.
Learn from the wise counsel of others.
Remember, though, to always seek God first.
Learn by trying new ideas to see what works.
Remember, though, to trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
Learn from God Himself by yielding to the work of the Holy Spirit in your life.
Remember, though, that God often does use a variety of means to teach you.

A ministry leader’s greatest resource is God Himself. Line up what you do with the very character of God. Learn from His heart and His ways.

If it lines up with Him and His ways, seek Him further as to whether the idea is right for your church or ministry. If it is not consistent with His being, abandon the idea immediately.

The Ministry Worker’s Devotional: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

Ministry Tools Resource Center provides a leadership ministry resource page covering a spectrum of issues leaders might face or practices they could implement. Be a more effective leader by learning from these resources but remember:

Even the best ideas are not good if God is not leading you to implement them in your church or ministry. Just because God blessed someone else who did it, doesn’t mean it is right for you. Follow Him!

Planning for the Holidays

MinTools — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:00:12 +0000

As kids go back to school and fall programs commence for churches, you can know that many of the major holidays will soon be upon us. We will have special programs, activities and events with a special emphasis.

Shortly after launching the MinTools.com site in 1999, I decided to provide a few holiday links which was so well received, based on site statistics, that I knew it was a service MinTools.com needed to provide. What started as one page is now up to 12 pages filled with holidays and seasonal ministry resources.

As you plan for the upcoming holidays, perhaps these pages will be of benefit to you. You will find resources for children, youth and adults on most of the pages.

Also look for the free monthly youth activity to provide you with one extra idea for your youth group in each given month celebrating a holiday or emphasis in that month. I had developed these special monthly meetings for a youth group I led and the students really seemed to like them. I pray they will be meaningful to your youth ministry as well.

Ministry Resources Everyone Needs

MinTools — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 15:06:10 +0000

The resources every ministry worker needs come out of the very character and nature of God. Each resource is like a rock upon which we can stand. Put all these rocks, or resources, together and we have a mighty fortress in our God. We merely have to grab hold.

In an article on the MinTools.com site called How will studying the character of God help my ministry? you will find the following list of benefits with scriptural support. Studying the character of God provides:

a base for decisions
a standard to keep on course
a compass for morality
a means to a life worth living
a means of bolstering confident living
a source of comfort and hope in times of trouble
a path to intimacy with God

To this end, a couple years ago I developed a devotional guide called The Ministry Worker’s Devotional: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God which is now available in both book and downloadable formats. It looks at different characteristics of God in light of how these attributes affect our ministry when we view them as ministry resources. The intent is that we are spurred on to greater dependence on the One who has the power to give us “everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him” (2 Pet. 1:3).

Free Way to Help Support Ministry Tools Resource Center

MinTools — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:00:59 +0000

Do you shop online? Now you can help support God’s work through Ministry Tools Resource Center without any extra cost to you. Simply search for one of the over 700 online stores in the iGive network after clicking on our iGive link and a portion of the money you spend benefits Ministry Tools Resource Center. You pay the same price at the store you normally would, perhaps even less if you find a coupon or deal on iGive. It will only take a a few moments to set up an iGive account.

Even searching the web through iSearchiGive.com means a penny or more toward our ministry. While a penny doesn’t sound like much, it adds up as each person does their part.

Anything you can do to help keep this ministry online, equipping believers around the world, would be greatly appreciated.

Follow MinTools.com on Twitter

MinTools — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:00:34 +0000

Now you can follow Ministry Tools Resource Center on Twitter. These tweets will let you know what is happening between blog posts and site updates. You will find out what is being worked on before it is even available. We will pass on to you ministry resources we come across and think you might want to know about. And, more.

If you are already on Twitter, we invite you to follow us. If not, it is free and easy to create an account. When you follow MinTools.com on Twitter, every time we post a new message it will appear on your Twitter home page.

A New Month at MinTools.com

MinTools — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:26:24 +0000

At the start of every new month at MinTools.com an e-mail newsletter is sent to those who sign up for it. I praise God for the many people from around the world who have subscribed to it and the good comments I have received about it.

These newsletters have multiple purposes:

They provide an update of new material on the site in both the online training and store.
They address a spiritual issue or ministry need relevant to believers in the Church.
They seek to encourage or challenge us to think about how well we are lining up with the character of God and principles from His Word, the Bible, in that area.

Please take time to read this month’s newsletter. You can subscribe to it on that same page in the left navigation panel. Please know that your e-mail address is used for no other purpose.

Saving Money in Today’s Economy

MinTools — Sat, 30 May 2009 12:00:50 +0000

I don’t know about you but in today’s economy I look for ways to save money both for the ministry and personally. One of the things I do is to buy used books when it is not for a gift. Getting used books can also be a good way to build your church library. Pastors and teachers might need books for research purposes. Often you can find books in new, like new, or very good conditions that can well suit your purpose. Here are places I look:

Generally you will find that more recently published books will be a higher cost. In that case, if the price seems close to the retail cost, I might buy a new book at Christianbook.com or Amazon.com and sometimes even Buy.com. I do some comparison shopping, remembering to figure in shipping costs from the different sites.

Another way I save money is to sell used books on Amazon.com and Half.com and through the MinTools.com site. When the book has served its purpose, rather than sit it on a shelf to collect dust I try to sell it. God has also blessed this ministry with books donated by people I know to sell for extra ministry income.

So, that’s something I do to save money in today’s economy. If we stop and think about what we do personally, in our churches and ministries, there are undoubtedly many other ways to save.