Philosophy of Ministry

Reposted from Rooted Thinking.

We need a God-centered, faith-filled expectancy as we pursue Gospel ministry. There are many reasons why we as believers in Jesus Christ should serve Him with a spirit of expectancy that God will work through us in evangelism. We looked at two reasons for such expectancy in a previous article. Now let’s look at three more.

We should have a spirit of expectancy because we have experienced the power of the Gospel

• “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes”* (Rom 1:16a).
• “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Cor 1:18).

This good news of Jesus Christ is the most powerful message in the universe—for those that believe it! No believer in Jesus Christ would ever question the power of the Gospel, would they? We know what the Gospel of Jesus Christ has done for us. We remember how our lives were changed and how we have escaped the power of sin because of God’s grace. We now know God and have a relationship with Him! We have hope of eternal life and purpose in our lives! But somehow over the course of time we can forget what God has done. If God can save me, He can save others! If he saved you 20 years ago, He certainly has that same power right now!

Reposted from Rooted Thinking.

What am I doing here? Who am I to be giving the Gospel to others? Why would God use me? Why should people listen to me?

I imagine that most Christians have asked questions like these when seeking to obey Christ and witness. When these thoughts come, what we do with them becomes extremely important. If we allow ourselves to dwell on our weakness, we will witness less and ineffectively, if we witness much at all.

Hindrances to Expectancy

When it comes to making disciples for Jesus Christ, no matter who we are or what our circumstances, all of us struggle at times with man-centered thoughts that handicap us. We make ourselves too important.

By Micah Colbert. Reposted from Rooted Thinking.

What is the church’s mission? How does the mission of the church relate to the mission of God? Are they the same, or different?

Clarifying Mission

Mission is one of those buzzwords that Christians frequently use but struggle to define. It seems like everything from preaching the gospel to digging wells in Africa is considered mission. Over the past few years, churches, small groups, and even clothing have suddenly become “missional.” But is mission really that broad or generic? In their clarifying book, What is the Mission of the Church?, Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert wisely point out that “mission… is not everything we do in Jesus’s name, nor everything we do in obedience to Christ. Mission is the task we are given to fulfill.”¹

“Excellence” might not be the business leadership buzzword it once was, but it’s far from dead. A quick search at Amazon shows plenty of recent business titles with “excellence” in them, and even if the term isn’t the biz word of the day anymore, the concept has never waned.

This is because the business world understands that making what they do, and how they do it, better is essential for their survival in a competitive marketplace. Maybe that marketplace mentality is partly why ministry leaders sometimes view excellence as a “a business thing.”

But they shouldn’t.

A Christian view of life and ministry has the pursuit of excellence at its very core. The flipside is also true: to the degree we accept shoddiness and haphazardness in our churches and ministries, we’re embracing a deeply unchristian way of thinking and acting.

A Culture of Excellence