How Do YOU Define a Win in Ministry

For the past four years I’ve been privileged to be on staff with my church. I work to support Women’s Ministries. Working in a church office is a crazy experience. It’s not always what you might imagine. Two months ago I finally stepped down from my position at church due to my growing writing and speaking ministry.

I will miss serving in that capacity at church and yet I’m excited for the new adventures ahead in other areas the God has planned for me.

At the time I resigned, I took a mental journey back through the four years of service. Because I was the unofficial photographer at most events and activities of Women’s Ministry I have accumulated thousands of photos through the years. So I began clicking through the faces and places where our ministry made impact.

I laughed, hooted, hollered, cried and I……

Celebrated.

I celebrated the wins.

What is a win in ministry? How do you define it? How does the church leadership define a win? Interesting to ponder and the answers and expectations can be vastly different between the two.

As I poured through the photos I saw faces. Faces of lives that were touched through ministry, who were touched by Jesus. I recalled those who escaped from fear and hopelessness. I viewed faces of those that took a Bible study for the first time and discovered God’s Word indeed was truth and the way to live life. I saw my friends, I saw some of our struggles. I even saw a few faces of those that I failed to serve to the best of my ability.

But overall, what I saw was ordinary women working to help others discover what they already knew, Jesus Christ alone is the hope for life. And as I look back over four long years of pouring into events, individuals, teaching Bible Study and all other manner of service, I can see the win.

And the win is that I helped one person at a time to find hope, healing and salvation through Jesus Christ.

Church leadership may want numbers. How many checked the box that they received Christ? What was the attendance at your last event? Did new people sign up to serve?

But Jesus is all about the one.

Jesus said, “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?  And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.  In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.” ~Matthew 18:12 NIV

As a new season of service quickly approaches, plead with God to allow you to see “the one” in your events of ministry. Those are the faces that you will see in eternity.

Have an amazing season. Join me today at my main website and subscribe to Flourish Magazine where I’m a columnist. May the Lord bless you and keep you, In His Service, Lynn Donovan