The beginning of the school year marks, at many churches, the beginning of a new season of ministry. Children get “promoted” to the next grade level—which in the church I grew up in, was a big deal. I still have the King James Bible with its blue imitation leather cover that I received on Promotion Sunday when I moved from the kindergarten to “Primary I” on October 5, 1969.
At the time I was so proud; I was taking the next step—moving up, moving on. Now, many years later, at this important time when we promote kids to their next levels, I have a question for you: What are you doing to move your ministry up to the next level?
You may think I’m going to tell you to work harder, invest longer hours, or use more creativity. Nope. Not yet. Before you do any of that, there’s an important spiritual discipline that needs to be in place in your life in order for your ministry to be all that it can be.
Last month, I encouraged you to take some time for solitude before the ministry season began. And I hope you’ll continue to find ways to spend time alone with God. Solitude is the foundation of effective ministry. Jesus himself modeled this for us, as he regularly withdrew from the crowds and even from his disciples to seek the company of his Father.
But between solitude and effective ministry, there is a second essential building block: the discipline of community.
In his classic essay on this topic, Henri Nouwen wrote that effective ministry begins with solitude, and then moves on to community, and out of that flows ministry.
We live in a culture that values autonomy and self-sufficiency. And it works for us … sort of. But really, ministry is not meant to be something we power up and do by ourselves. The best ministry flows out of community, where we love and are loved. A community that calls forth the best in each of us, so that we can come together to do what none of us could do alone.
Even Jesus, when he walked our planet, did not do ministry alone. He had a large group of followers, beyond just his twelve disciples. He lived in relationship with a group of men and women who followed him, supported him financially, loved him, learned from him. He loved them, and received love from them.
So before you start making huge plans for all the work of ministry, consider the question: Do you have a team of people, committed to one another, to do ministry with you? Are you a part of a team that will support you, challenge you, guide you? Even if you are leading that team, be sure that you are not just the task master. What could you do to make that team a small group that encourages and equips each other?
Community is a spiritual practice that can feel as easy as hanging out with friends, or as difficult as resolving conflict. It requires us to love and encourage, and offers us those same things in return.
So before you make big plans about all the ministry tasks you’re going to do this season, consider your team. Make sure that you are in a small group or serving team with people who will hold you accountable, tell you the truth, encourage you, and pray for you. Refusing to slide into isolation is the secret to moving forward with your ministry.
Throughout the New Testament, you’ll often find the words “one another,” as in encourage one another, love one another, pray for one another, even admonish one another. Christianity is a “one another” faith.
You may even want to spend time in your small group reading the Bible together and encourage one another to grow deeper in your relationship with God. In other words, don’t make all of your meetings about the task or ministry. Now, if you lead a team, you may think “I’ve got enough on my plate with all the ministry work. Now I have to lead a Bible study for my team as well?”
Maybe the right answer is “yes.” If so, I have an idea that will make this responsibility easy for you. I am going to be leading a small group in my neighborhood this fall—in fact, we’ve already started meeting. We meet to encourage one another, pray for one another, and to read the Bible together. This fall, we’ll be reading the gospel of Mark.
I plan to post notes about our meetings, questions for discussion and so on, on my blog www.keriwyattkent.com/soul/. Feel free to visit the blog to get ideas to use with your own group or to leave comments about what your group is learning. Wouldn’t it be cool if the community you share with your ministry team could be connected with other teams and small groups?
Spend time in solitude, to allow God to fill and replenish you with his love. Then, engage in community where you can share that love as well as receive it through others. My prayer for you is that your soul will be so filled by time with God and time with his people that your ministry will simply overflow from your soul.
Keri Wyatt Kent is a speaker and author of six books. Her latest book, Rest: Living in Sabbath Simplicity, will release in January. Learn more at www.keriwyattkent.com.
Copyright © 2008 Keri Wyatt Kent.
