You might respond, “Depends on the night Chris.”, and while that’s true, I think it can run much deeper than that. I believe how we respond to a night of ministry depends on two things:
How We Prepare Before
Problem: We walk into a night stressed out and preoccupied because we haven’t given ourselves margin. Instead of walking into the ministry ready to serve, we’re tying up loose ends from earlier in our day.
Solution:
MAKE A DEADLINE to get all the tasks, duties and responsibilities done ahead of time. When you hit the deadline stop what you are doing (even if it’s the middle of it). Then
SCHEDULE time margin to just relax, pray and prepare to serve.
How We Perceive During
Problem: We’re looking in the wrong direction. We tend to turn our attention towards us. We worry about the message, the activity, the music and how the crowd responds. We’re looking at how we are perceived and not looking at God and how He is working in the lives of teenagers.
Solution:
MAKE A LIST of the ways you win in ministry. Ask yourself the question, “Where am I seeing life change tonight?”
If you walk in to a night wiped out from a busy day or preoccupied you’ll burn out 10 minutes into the program. If you worry about how everything is being executed, instead of observing how God is entering the lives of teenagers, you’ll find yourself disappointed. This week take some time to stop, listen and observe the beauty of God’s plan, so that you can walk away saying, “That was the best night ever.”
How do you prepare for a night of ministry?
How do you capture moments of life change in your ministry?