When we start talking about the need to persevere in ministry, it implies something isn’t quite going right. Let’s be honest, we tend to want God to make ministry easy, convenient, comfortable, and problem-free. Yet, God never promised perfect circumstances.
Jesus told us to expect problems in this world (Jn. 16:33). In an upcoming post we’ll look at some of the troubles we can expect in ministry. (Subscribe to be notified of new posts.) To be overcomers in ministry, we need to learn to persevere.
Ministry Perseverance is Staying Power
The word for perseverance in the New Testament Greek, hypomone, comes from the word “hupo” meaning under, and “meno” meaning to abide or remain. So, the literal definition of perseverance is remaining under. That’s staying power — patient endurance and steadfastness.
In short, ministry perseverance deals with being sustained and strengthened to keep serving no matter what we face or how we feel.
In addition to defining perseverance, the Ministry God’s Way Discipleship Tool points to the truth that God’s goal for persevering isn’t just to survive but to thrive. It also looks at some of the hardships we might face in ministry and what’s needed to persevere.