Category Archives: Traits for Ministry

We might hear a variety of responses if we were to ask the question, “What is the most important characteristic in an effective ministry worker?”.

Traits Found in Effective Ministry Workers

Possible suggestions could be:

Intentional: We need to know our purpose and make deliberate efforts to follow the process for getting there. Intentionality is important because people need to believe that where we’re going will make a difference in their lives.

Honest: We need to be authentic, transparent, real. Honesty is important because people need to sense that they can trust us.

Consistent: We need to practice what we preach, always be fair, and bring some sense of stability into this chaotic world. Consistency is important because people need to know that they can count on us.

Sensitive: We need to understand and accept that not everybody is at the same place in their walk nor do they have the same needs. Sensitivity is important because people need to feel that they matter to us.

The Most Important Characteristic in Ministry Workers

The importance of the above mentioned traits isn’t merely to make us more effective or make us look good to others. Rather, it’s the effect we have on the people we serve. The message these traits relay to the people we serve matters. If we aren’t connecting with people, all our smooth-running programs or eloquent words will lack the full impact they could have. So, the most important characteristic for ministry workers is  …

Love: We need to give of ourselves to others in ways let them see how devoted we are to them. That includes all of the above traits and more. Love matters because people need to know we truly care about them.

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. (1 Cor. 13:1-3)

Being a servant is as much of an attitude as it is action.

We can do acts of service and still not be a servant if our motivation is rooted in selfish ambition, if our intended outcome is recognition, and if our ultimate purpose is to benefit ourself in some way. True servanthood begins with selflessness, maintains humility throughout, and ultimately seeks the good of others which requires the right heart attitude.

Learn from Jesus about What It Takes to be a Servant

We can learn much about servanthood by looking at Jesus’ attitude.

1) Jesus “did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, even though He was in very nature God.”

Having the attitude of Jesus means we will not let position, status, or superior qualities and skills get in the way of serving.

Servants are not status seekers but rather display humility.

2) Jesus “made himself nothing.”

Having the attitude of Jesus begins with a choice. He purposefully laid aside all the glories of heaven to come to earth as a human baby. Still God, He chose to grow and live as a man who would suffer a humiliating and cruel death for us.

Servants do not get caught up in a sense of entitlement but rather give of themselves sacrificially.

3) Jesus took on “the very nature of a servant.”

Having the attitude of Jesus requires certain heart qualities. He didn’t put on a front. It wasn’t a contrived effort on His part but was real because it was the essence of who He was.

Servants do not merely act the part but rather are servants to the very core of their being.

4) Jesus was “made in human likeness.”

Having the attitude of Jesus means we will identify with those we serve. Jesus not only came to where we live but became one of us.

Servants are not aloof but rather empathize and enter into the lives of those they serve.

5) Jesus, “being found in appearance as a man humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross.”

Having the attitude of Jesus might lead to doing things we don’t want to do for the sake of others. Jesus prayed “not my will but Thy will be done” as He faced the cross.

Servants are not self-serving but rather submissive for the sake of the big picture.

Servanthood is a Choice

So much of the attitude of Jesus began with a choice … a choice to make himself nothing, take on the nature of a servant, humble himself and become obedient.

Do you and I truly WANT TO become servants … not just do what we think we are supposed to do?

Notice that the choice He made was to put His own status and comforts aside to work for the good of others.

Are you and I truly WILLING TO abandon our own agendas, ambitions, and applause to build others up and help them reach their potential in Christ?

Understand that working for the good of others was marked by suffering, submission, and sacrifice.

Are you and I truly WALKING the same road Jesus did to serve others?

Help for Church Leaders:

• Church Leader’s Role as a Servant
• Church Leaders, Be an Example of Servanthood
• Steering the Church Toward Christ-like Character Leadership Guide

Churches get rated by people looking in whether they intend to be or not. What makes some churches seem more excellent than others?

Is it really all their attention to the details? Or, is there more to it than the details?

Pay Attention to the Details:

In almost every ministry there are details to tend to that communicate a message to people about their importance to you and/or how much you expect them to value what’s about to happen. Lack of attention to details could lead to a negative impression. Excellence in quality and preparedness could stir up a good feeling leading to greater receptivity.

In Teaching: pencils sharpened, extra Bibles on hand, projector ready, chairs arranged, neat & legible visuals, lesson well prepared

In Leadership: consistent communication, begin and end meetings on time, come prepared

In Church Communications: well-designed & regularly updated church website, quality PowerPoint presentations, well-crafted written communication and promotional materials

In People Helping Ministry: food/clothes bank cleaned & stocked, emergency supplies ready for crisis, referral list previously prepared, people on call for counseling, support, or meeting of a variety of needs

In Worship:  worship leaders and team are well rehearsed, projected words to songs and Scripture are well-designed, printed materials lack typographical errors, the order of the service flows, attention was put into lighting, sound, and other technological issues

When you don’t concern yourself with excellence by paying attention to details, you’ll be scrambling to set things up, take too long to get back to people about how you can help, make excuses for why things aren’t going well, and the like. All that negatively impacts ministry.

Pay Attention to the Big Picture:

While details are important, so is the big picture. When it comes to excellence, God expects you to do the best with what you have, to work within the means and abilities He has provided for you. The bigger picture also communicates.

For the sake of excellence would God really want you to go into such debt for those facilities, high tech equipment, lighting, etc., that you have little or no resources for other kinds of ministry? — What about the bigger picture of stewardship? It’s a matter of maintaining a consistent testimony.

For the sake of excellence would God really want you to be so busy making things just right that you neglect other priorities like time with Him, family, and friends? — What about the bigger picture of relationships? It’s a matter of attaining to higher principles, that of love for God and people.

For the sake of excellence would God really want you to get so stressed that you worry, fret, and obsess? — What about the bigger picture of trusting God to be the real power source for ministry, not your efforts? It’s a matter of sustaining a proper perspective.

Pay Attention to Both the Details and the Big Picture:

Glorify God in all you do (Col. 3:17; 1 Cor. 3:12-15; 10:31). Details do matter, sending a message to the people you serve. But, if you aren’t careful, that same excellence could be communicating an even bigger message that could undo the effects of all your attention to detail.

Know your God-given parameters, realizing there may be times He will want you to step outside of them. Be sure, however, that He’s the One doing the prompting and not you. Be willing to say “Enough” when the costs soar too high, when your schedule is too full, and when your trust is more in what you are doing than in the Lord.