Category Archives: Ministry Objectives

In leadership we work with ideas, schedules, strategies, finances, and people.  We could easily get caught up in managing it all, making sure we have a smooth running program.

In teaching we have a lesson plan to accomplish.  We could easily set our goal on having a perfect class which requires good classroom management.

In outreach we want to see people come into the kingdom.  We could easily focus on being at the right places, saying all the right things, and doing what is necessary to win people for Christ which requires us to manage our time, tongue, and talents wisely to accomplish results.

When excellence, efficiency, and efficacy become our overriding goals, we can lose sight of the real reason we should be doing what we do, our overriding purpose … loving people which spills out of our love for God.  When that happens,

• Problems become obstacles to surmount rather than opportunities to help people grow.
• The end tends to justify the means and we lose integrity in the process or walk on people to get where we want to be.

Our ministry objective needs to be loving people, not mere management of them.

We shoot for excellence to get people’s attention and to adequately provide for their needs.   We strive for efficiency so we have more time to focus on people.  We want efficacy not so we can gloat in numbers or other results but rather to rejoice that people have come to know the Lord and are growing in their relationship with Him.

According to 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, it doesn’t matter how well you do something or how spectacular the results are, if you have not love …. You finish it:  What do you have?  Really, what do you have?

Do these phrases characterize you?

Attentiveness to God’s Word
Commitment where it Counts
Participation in Serving
Growth and Usefulness in Life

Do they describe the people to whom and with whom you minister?  Do they portray the dynamic of your church body?

If it’s what you want to see, then your ministry objective needs to go beyond mere external conformity to making it about the heart.

Why Our Ministry Objective Needs to be about Heart Transformation, Not Mere External Conformity

Spiritual life and fruitfulness is a result of abiding in the Lord Jesus (Jn. 15:5).  If you want to see people, yourself included, attentive to God’s Word, committed to the right things, participating in service, and growing and being useful to the kingdom, then you need to keep the focus on what is happening in the heart, in one’s relationship with the Lord.

Too often we seek to change behavior without heart change.  It is little wonder that people’s attentiveness seems so short, that their commitment grows cold, that their serving is minimal, that their growth becomes stunted, and that their impact is barely felt.

The heart is the “wellspring of life” according to Proverbs 4:23.  If the heart does not have an increasing Godward-orientation, its resources will be like a shallow or dried up well.

Your ministry objective needs to be heart change, not mere external conformity.  Don’t expect much out of yourself or others if external conformity without internal change is all there is.

More:  Why Don’t We Get That It Is About the Heart?

We live in an information age, proliferated by the Internet. I can’t tell you how many newsletters about the Internet I have read that stressed some variation of “Content is king.”  Is this true of ministry? Should that be our objective?

What good is knowledge without application?

Solomon in his quest to understand earthly knowledge concluded that it was like chasing after wind.  He said “…the more knowledge, the more grief” and “much study wearies the body.”  He ended his search, “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Eccl. 12:13).

The more we know the more it should lead us to realize that there is so much more we don’t know.  God should seem bigger as a result.

Knowledge is important, according to Solomon who also said, “wise men store up knowledge” (Prov. 10:14).  But, he also stated that “every prudent man acts out of knowledge”  (Prov. 13:16).

The conclusion: Knowledge for knowledge’s sake is not the answer but rather its usage, particularly in getting to know God better.

What priority is knowledge as a ministry objective?

Knowledge is not the starting point, nor is it the end, according to 2 Peter 1:5-9 —

“add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.”

We begin with faith.  The object of our faith is the God who saves us and equips us for life.  We end with love, the greatest commandment according to Jesus (Matt. 22:37-40).  Knowledge is only a part of the process of getting from faith to love.  But, we will be held accountable to the level of knowledge that we have.  — “Anyone, then, who KNOWS the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” (James 4:17)

The conclusion: Knowledge is important but in itself is insufficient to make you effective and productive in “your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

You ministry objective needs to be the application of knowledge, not mere knowledge.  Without knowledge, you will simply have emotionalism in the Christian life.  “It is not good to have zeal without knowledge” (Prov. 19:2).  But, if you make it all about knowledge, you will simply have puffed up people for “knowledge puffs up” (1 Cor. 8:1).

Also be aware that In Some Cases Knowledge Really is Power.

In a previous blog post I listed 6 ministry objectives leading to greater effectiveness.  Let’s now consider why I believe these objectives would make a difference.

Rationale Behind Ministry Objectives Leading to Effectiveness

1)  Objective:  Invest much prayer into whatever you do.

You are depending on God and not yourself to bring results which is guaranteed to make a difference.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Prov. 3:5-6)

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. (1 Cor. 3:7)

2)   Objective:  Work at getting everybody involved.

You are following God’s design for the Church out of which He brings growth.

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Eph. 4:16)

3)  Objective:  Think outside of the box.  Learn to be more creative.

You are following the example of Jesus.  How can you go wrong doing that?  We have precedence with Jesus of working outside of the box as seen in a previous post.

I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. (Jn. 13:15 – He stepped outside of the box in doing something not typical for His position.)

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. (1 Pet. 2:21-23 – He suffered because He wouldn’t stay in the box.)

4)  Objective:  Make an effort to meet people where they are.

You are following the Apostle Paul’s example in 1 Corinthians 9:19-22 of adapting with the intent of reaching more people.  Also, you are obeying the greatest commandment which is to love (Matt. 22:37-40).

I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. (1 Cor. 9:22)

5)  Objective:  Know where to find resources that will help you be more effective.

You are allowing God to use other believers in your life which follows the the concepts He established of iron sharpening iron and interdependence within the Body.

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Prov. 27:17)

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”  (1 Cor. 12:21)

6)  Objective:  Be good stewards of the resources you do have.

You are doing what is right, faithfully investing what God has given you, and He rewards that.

Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness! (Matt. 25:23)

Bottom Line: God works within and honors what He has established and commanded.  Follow objectives that line up with Him and see the difference it makes.

Every month I write a newsletter update about new content on the site embedded in some words of encouragement or equipping.  It is available online but also sent by e-mail to anyone who subscribes using the form which can be found on most pages on the site.  Previous newsletters are removed when a new month turns the corner.  I received a request for the one done for September 2009 as the person accidentally deleted his e-mail.  In looking at the content, I thought it might be good to make it permanently available to everybody.  I’ve pulled out the main points for you below.

Ministry Objectives That Lead to Greater Effectiveness

Do you want to see a greater effectiveness in ministry?  Work on these six objectives:

1)  Invest much prayer into whatever you do.

Hopefully you prayed through the planning stages.  Don’t stop praying.  Envelop the on-going efforts in prayer.  Recruit people specifically to pray for you and your ministry.  Even if you have only one or two prayer supporters, you are providing more prayer coverage than if you didn’t.  God will hear those prayers.

2)  Work at getting everybody involved.

God so designed the church that if everybody did their part, using their spiritual gifts, so much more can happen and more effectively.   It might seem easier to do everything yourself, but that is not the way God designed the Body to grow.  (Eph. 4:16)

3)  Think outside of the box.  Learn to be more creative.

One of the things that hinders ministry from being more effective is getting stuck in ruts … not just in what we do but also in how we think about the process.  “But we’ve always done it this way” is a mindset that will keep you from growing.  Yes, there are some absolutes that never change but so much of what we hold on to is simply form or process that God never commanded to be done in one set way.

4)  Make an effort to meet people where they are.

Accept them where they are and they will be more open to moving to where they should be.  This means you must take time to learn about the people in your midst.  You can start by learning more about their general developmental characteristics.  Even that will help you zero in on their basic needs and help you see how to implement ministry relevant to them.

5)  Know where to find resources that will help you be more effective.

God has blessed us with an abundance of books, Internet sites, audio recordings, film, and more to help us be more effective.  We truly are without excuse.  Nothing, however, should ever take the place of His Word.  And, any of these other resources should always be filtered through Scripture.

6)  Be good stewards of the resources you do have.

In these hard economic times, many churches and ministries have more limited funds.  We need to make the best of what we have and trust God to work with what He provides.