How to Decide Between Ministry Opportunities
The good news about life in ministry is that you will never run out of opportunities to serve. The bad news about life in ministry is that you will never run out of opportunities to serve. Needs and opportunities are everywhere, whether that’s leading a Bible study, starting an afterschool tutoring program, organizing a weekend retreat, spearheading outreach to a local refugee community, or mentoring college students. Depending on where you live, the needs of your local community, and the particular vision of your church, you may be presented with invitations to dive into new ministry ventures multiple times a month. This can leave you feeling overwhelmed, like you need to do it all.
If too many opportunities are calling your name, or if you’ve already said “yes” to too much, how do you evaluate where you need to hone your focus? How do you even know if you’re doing too much?
Consider Your Sweet Spot
As pastor J.D. Greear has often said, it’s good to remember that not every opportunity has your name on it. God has given a wide variety of gifts to his people, intended to be used in a myriad of ways to equip the church and to minister to spiritual and physical brokenness both locally and around the world. This means that the mission of God belongs to the entire church, not just to an energized few. The body analogy of the church is a helpful picture of what healthy ministry can look like—an environment where each person contributes faithfully in a unique aspect of service (1 Corinthians 12).
Prayerfully consider your “sweet spot” of ministry—what makes you come alive, where are your skill sets, and what makes you want to do more? Is there a unique niche you fill that not many others do? Or a special training you have that enables you to equip others in a unique way? Consider a counseling pastor I know. He loves to meet with individuals for one-on-one counseling sessions, but he feels his real passion is for teaching and equipping other counselors (both lay and professional). He’s working to develop models of counseling ministry that can be duplicated by other churches, so he pours much of his time into building seminars, writing booklets, and compiling other training materials related to marriage, problematic emotions, addiction, and abuse. He takes what he does well and uses it in a very strategic way for maximum impact. This has necessitated that he delegate much of the individual counseling load to other practitioners within the church.
How does this parallel hold true in your life and ministry? If you are a small group leader, do you need to host all of the meetings, coordinate the social events, lead all the book discussions, and make all the snacks, or do you need to let someone else step into some of these roles so you can do what you do best—facilitate Bible study? If you are a community outreach coordinator, do you need to personally tutor at every meeting of the afterschool club, collect all of the donations for the food drive, and coordinate the free dental clinic on your own? Maybe the most strategic use of your time and talent would be to launch these ministries well and then entrust some of the weekly details to additional church members who are equally passionate about helping the underserved.
Maybe your challenge to find your sweet spot is not as much of a delegation issue as it is an issue of honing your focus. Can you effectively lead the audiovisual team of your church, spearhead volunteer efforts to resettled refugees, and lead a men’s accountability group all at the same time? If you find yourself in this boat, it may be time to prayerfully consider where to best concentrate your time and attention. Each of these efforts represent important ministry needs, but chances are, none of them will get the attention they need if you are spread too thin.
Evaluate Your Season
Different periods of your life will allow for varying levels of capacity for ministry. Take stock of where God has put you today and the nonnegotiable priorities and commitments you have. Maybe right now you are a caregiver for an elderly parent, and this isn’t your season to teach that parenting class. Maybe you don’t need to sign up for that extra tutoring session so you can be free to help your older teen learn how to drive. Let’s remember that it’s not just the scheduled service and discipleship that we perform that falls under the category of “ministry.”
Is there a responsibility or task you need to let go of for a time? Perhaps there is something “extra” in your life that you need to lay down for this particular season. Not only could this decision provide you with a healthier life balance, but this could be the push someone else needs in order to grow into their own calling.
The Gift of Knowing Your Limits
In a culture where self-reliance and high personal capacity are prized, it is hard to face the idea that we can’t do it all. But here’s the thing: the more we grow in our walk with Christ, the more we will see we are dependent people—dependent on the Lord for strength, for personal growth in godliness, for forgiveness when we sin, and for continued motivation to do good (1 John 1:9, Philippians 2:13, 2 Corinthians 12:9). We are also dependent on each other to hold on to hope without wavering, to not be deceived by sin, and to grow in compassion (Hebrews 3:13, 10:23, Colossians 3:12–13). In the Christian life we have the gift of reliance, which opens us up to the blessings of rich community with God and others. This reliance includes knowing when to dive into an opportunity and when to let someone else say yes.
Both the decision to serve and the decision to hand the task to someone else are an exercise in trust—trust that God is the one who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20) and who shows mercy by opening people’s hearts to the truth (Titus 3:4–5). And for those ministry efforts we do commit to wholeheartedly, we will rely on fresh supplies of God’s grace to pour ourselves out in love, trusting the Lord to build others up through us and to be a display of the kingdom of God, watching for the work he will do.