Category Archives: Ministry Process & Results

In our consideration of how to spur others on (Heb. 10:24), we must remember that …

Everybody isn’t at the same place, and everybody isn’t like us.

Sometimes people have needs that hold them back.

This suggests that we must meet people where they are if we hope to be instrumental in motivating them.

To Motivate People, Remember That People Aren’t at the Same Place

People come to our churches and ministries with different backgrounds, belief systems, gifting, personalities, and ministry experience. Being at different places brings unique needs, issues, and time availabilites. A one-size-fits-all approach in our training and discipleship efforts may not yield the results we hope. What motivates one person might not spur on the next person.

• Ask: How can we better acknowledge, accept, and affirm individuals’ unique needs and contributions?

When calling fishermen to be His disciples Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. If we offer what fits within people’s God-given design or season of life, eventually the unmotivated may become motivated.

To Motivate People, Remember That Sometimes Their Needs Hold Them Back

Like it or not, we live in a world where people ask themselves, “What’s in it for me?” In an ideal world, people would get involved simply because they love the Lord. While that motivation certainly should be encouraged and nurtured, we must be realistic about where people are now. Meet their lower level needs and eventually the unmotivated may become motivated in the higher areas.

• Ask: What can we do to help free people up from what holds them back?

Jesus took a holistic approach. He met basic physical needs, like feeding the multitudes and healing the sick as well as meeting their deepest spiritual needs. It’s about tapping into where people are rather than where we think they should be or want them to be. We must remember that just because something would be beneficial to us, doesn’t mean it will be for others.

To Motivate People, Meet Them Where They Are

“People tend to understand no more than one stage above where they are.” (quote from Teacher’s Role in Discipling Students toward Spiritual Growth Resource) Trying to take people too far beyond where they are usually leads to frustration, maybe even despair. Meet people where they are and build upon it, taking them to the next level.

• Ask: Where are people? What is their next step?

Jesus would often use common, familiar objects to transition into spiritual truths, taking people from what they knew to the unknown.

For more on Spurring One Another On, Also Read:

• Helping Unmotivated People Get Motivated
• Body Life Results in Motivation in Church due to Love & Grace
• Use Your Spiritual Gifts to Spur Others on to Serve
• Value Motivates to Serve

Based on 1 Thessalonians 2:3-6a, we can conclude that in coming alongside of people in ministry, we need to keep our message true to God’s Word and our motives pure. When that happens, our methodology will be filled with integrity. So, check your methods. If there’s any form of manipulation, something’s askew.

For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed – God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. (1 Thess. 2:3-6a)

Check Your Methods to Make Sure They’re Upright

Paul said he never used trickery, flattery, or cover-ups. All of that would have been manipulating people into doing what he wanted them to do. How he treated people stemmed from an upright heart, one that was genuine and maintained the right motives. He would set aside his own comfort, convenience, and rights to win people to the Lord (1 Cor. 9:19-23), but not in deceptive, self-serving ways. To help identify how our methods may not always be fully upright, read:

• Trying to Attract People to Your Church Through Manipulation?
• Trying to Attract People to Your Church by What You Offer?

Think about it: The message we proclaim comes from the Almighty God, the One of whom there’s none greater. Why would we think God needs our help to manipulate people into believing and changing? Isn’t God’s Word powerful enough to thoroughly equip people (2 Tim. 3:16-17)? Isn’t it “alive and active” (Heb. 4:12), sufficient to produce faith and lead to salvation (Rom. 1:16; 10:17; 1 Pet. 1:23-25)? Remember, God’s Word is “sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).

How to Safeguard Your Methodology

Paul went to great pains to be upright because He sought approval from God, not people. What God thought mattered more than any perceived benefit from others. He knew that doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord also benefited others (2 Cor. 8:21). For that reason he told Timothy, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (1 Tim. 4:16) That would take diligence and giving himself wholly to it (1 Tim. 4:15).

Paul likened the discipline needed to that of the strict training needed to win in a sports competition. He said, “Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” (1 Cor. 9:24-27) — How far are you willing to go to make sure your ministry methods remain upright, approved by God?

In doing a personal ministry check-up, it isn’t enough to make sure we have the right message. We also need to check our motives, to make sure we’re coming alongside of people for the right reasons. We can learn from the Apostle Paul’s example.

For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed – God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. (1 Thess. 2:3-6a)

Check Your Motivation to Make Sure It’s Pure

We have pure motives in ministry when we do what we do because we love the Lord with ALL of our heart, soul, mind, and strength which spills over into loving people (Lk. 10:27). Impure motives come when we put anything or anyone, including ourselves, above the Lord. When, however, we put our “all” into loving God, there’s no room for selfish ambition. He’s the One who gets the glory, not us (Ps. 115:1). It’s His agenda we seek, not our own. It’s His approval that matters, not people’s (Gal. 1:10).

Think about it: We serve the Almighty God, the One of whom there is none greater. Shouldn’t everything be centered around Him. Who are we to claim that which belongs to Him? Who are we that we would seek to draw attention to ourselves rather than the One who can truly make a difference in people’s lives? — “So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” (1 Cor. 3:7)

How to Safeguard Your Motives

Paul kept his motives pure by looking at ministry as a heart issue, not merely tasks to be accomplished. He knew God “tests our hearts” (1 Thess. 2:4b) for “the Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Sam. 16:7).

So, “above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Prov. 4:23). Remember, “the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Lk. 6:45). Take great care to sow good into your heart.

For more about the role of the heart in ministry, read the following:

• Ministry Efforts Done From the Heart?
• Why Don’t We Get That It’s About the Heart?
• The Value of Heart Preparation
• The Need for Heart Preparation
• God’s Search of Who We Are

In 1 Thessalonians 2:3-6, Paul did a personal assessment of sorts in defense of the message he shared with this church. Therein we learn of the need to check our message as well.

For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed – God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.

Check Your Message to Make Sure It’s True

Notice how Paul said, “the appeal we make does not spring from error” (1 Thess. 2:3). We mustn’t wander from what’s true to make the message seem more appealing. People need to hear truth, not what makes them feel good. Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (Jn. 8:31-32)

While we mustn’t stray from the truth, we must make sure we’re presenting it rightly. The Greek word for “appeal”, paraklesis, suggests that Paul came alongside of the Thessalonians with truth. He came alongside with encouragement, entreating them, rather than with an iron fist as an authoritarian. He didn’t, however, merely say what he thought they wanted to hear, but rather what God wanted them to hear. He didn’t stray from what was true but rather aligned with God’s message. In coming alongside of people in this way, he was speaking the truth in love (Eph. 4:15).

Paul’s words to Timothy further explain that we’re to communicate truth “with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations …” (2 Tim. 4:2-5)

How to Safeguard the Message

Paul kept true because he looked at the message he had been given as an entrustment for which he’d be held accountable. He wrote, “we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel” (1 Thess. 2:4a). No wonder Paul exhorted Timothy, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). If we’re not investing sufficient prayer, time, and study into God’s Word, we may find ourselves failing to accurately communicate God’s truth.

Think about it: The message we proclaim comes from the Almighty God, the One of whom there is none greater. Shouldn’t we handle it carefully? Who are we to make adjustments to it? Who are we to pick and choose what’s true when He says “all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful” (2 Tim. 3:16-17)?

Read the following articles for more thoughts about accurately presenting the message. These articles target Bible teachers, but anyone communicating God’s Word, in any capacity, can benefit.

• Teaching the Whole Counsel of God?
• Approach to Teaching the Whole Counsel of God
• Since Everything was Written to Teach, Then …
• Faithful Bible Teachers

When was the last time you did a personal ministry check-up? The Apostle Paul made this kind of assessment of his ministry in light of criticism levied at him. False accusations that could have stirred up doubts within the Thessalonian church required Paul to defend his ministry. In order to do that, he had to step back and look at himself, to do a check-up of sorts. We can learn much from his conclusions.

For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed – God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. (1 Thess. 2:3-6a)

Value of Personal Assessments

For Paul, doing a ministry check-up became essential for the purpose of defending his ministry to reassure others of the validity of his message. We might not be in the same position as Paul so we might not need to broadcast conclusions. We do however need to be ready should the need arise.

Like Paul, we need to know before God, with Him as “our witness”, that we’re doing ministry as He would have us do it. Whatever we do, we do it to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). We ultimately stand accountable before God to be good stewards of that with which we’ve been entrusted. Two times in just a few verses, Paul stated the perspective that kept him from failing the check-up. He wasn’t trying to please people, to gain their praise, but rather cared most about what God thought, for he realized that God was the One who tested his heart. He knew he could fool other people, but not God.

What to Consider When Doing a Personal Ministry Check-Up

Look back at Paul’s words to the Thessalonians. There we find three different areas for us to assess.

1. Our message – Make sure it’s true.
2. Our motives – Make sure they’re pure.
3. Our methods – Make sure they’re upright, filled with integrity.

Be sure to click on the above links for more on each area.

When we truly believe the creation account in Genesis, particularly the way God made people, we begin to realize it should make a difference in how we do ministry. In this post we want to acknowledge that God made us as physical beings which means we need to get people involved in the process.

God Made People to Process Life as Physical Beings So They Need to be Actively Engaged

God made us with flesh and bone (Gen. 2:23) that engages with and is responsive to its surroundings.

With our eyes we see the beauty of the heavens and earth. With our ears we listen to the sounds made by that which has been created. With our nose we smell the aromas of what surrounds us. With our hands we feel the various textures of the world around us. And, with our mouths we taste the provisions of God’s creation. As we use our senses, we experience and learn.

Implications: Let’s not solely or primarily rely on the auditory sense, whether engaging people in settings like the classroom or the worship service. At minimal we can use visuals along with verbal communication. The more senses we engage, the better.

Also Read: Engage the Senses as Much as Possible

God created us as physical beings, with bodies designed to move.

From what we can gather, God initially used to walk in the Garden with Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:8). They didn’t just sit there doing nothing but rather were put in that garden to “work it and take care of it” (Gen. 2:15). They were made to be physically active.

Implications: Let’s not expect people to sit still and merely listen for long periods of time. Children especially, but even adults, need to be active. Henrietta Mears, founder of Gospel Light, said “God put the wiggle in children. Don’t you dare try to take it out.” We might have to get a little more creative with ways of getting adults standing or moving about, but even adults shouldn’t merely sit passively. All ages need to be engaged, involved physically, not just mentally.