How to Be Successful in Ministry -13 Principles

I want to share with you 13 principles that have helped me immensely in ministry. Some of these I was given by others who are more experienced in ministry and wiser than I. Others, I have gleaned from books read and still a few I have come up with through my experience.

I hope you will find some wisdom in these principles and a few things you can apply to your ministry context this year.

1. Be

Focus on being a man of God over doing ministry. If I can become who God wants me to become, the doing will take care of its self!

2. Be Selfish

Every sermon, every teaching opportunity, every time I open God’s Word it should be about me before it’s about others.

3. Be Together

Try to do as many things as possible in ministry with others. Understand that much of discipleship happens outside of the pulpit during the regular stuff of life.

4. Be Happy

In general try to promote, encourage and be a positive influence to those I minister to.

5. Be Liberal

Allow those in my church to practice their own spiritual gifts without my overbearing control. Give guidance and counsel where needed but also give enough freedom to allow people to grow into their own ministries.

6. Be Home

Understand that I must minister to my family and be at home often. I can’t and won’t spend every waking minute at church, my family needs me!

7. Be Reproducible

Try to do everything in a way that can be reproduced and multiplied. That means utilizing technologies like YouTube, podcasts and blogging to make as much of my ministry as possible available and reproducible to as many people as possible.

8. Be Approachable

I’m not some super holy saint that has to ride around in a plexiglass box, Jesus let people come near him, to touch him, to wash his feet with their tears. I want people around me to know that they can come to me, I will listen to them, I will pray with them, I will help them as I can.

9. Be Rested

Ministry is never ending. I need to establish healthy routines of work and rest. I can serve others better when I am rested.

10. Be a Learner

Seminary wasn’t enough, if I’m not stretching my mind with new books and striving to better understand God’s Word and the culture around me then I will quickly become ineffective in ministry.

11. Be Faithful

Stick with it no matter what. Don’t give up just because it’s hard. Do the right thing even if it’s the hard thing and let God take care of the results.

12. Be Healthy

There’s no good excuse to throw away my health as a “sacrifice” for ministry. I choose to be an example to my church and not to fill my body with junk, to eat in moderation and to get regular exercise.

13. Be Holy

Maybe this goes without saying, but I’m afraid not to say it! I choose purity, integrity and honesty even in those areas of my life where others can not see.

Questions: What principle hits home for you? What principles could you add to this list?

Recommended Reading

Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome -Kent and Barbara Hughes