So far in the first three posts on playing to your strengths, I've only talked about personal strengths. In this final post, I want to challenge you to do the same within your ministry. Just as each individual is different and has his or her own unique strengths and giftedness, so does each ministry.
Just as we can more easily identify our weaknesses than our strengths, you can probably more readily see things that are not going well in your ministry rather than things that are. And while we want to grow and do all things with excellence, I wonder if you've taken the time to really consider just what the strengths of your particular ministry are?
Going back to our tendency to compare with other ministries, it's easy to forget that they are working with a different set of variables than you are. The campus doesn't need you to be carbon copies of each other! What it needs is each of you playing your part in the Kingdom, making the most of the unique strengths and ministry opportunities you possess.
When I stop and consider what we have that makes us unique, I quickly see that I haven't even begun to tap into all the possibilities to fully play to these strengths. One strength for us is that we have a building. It's easy to see how that can be a weakness (certainly meeting on campus would be more accessible to on-campus students) but it presents us with a lot of opportunities as well. It allows us complete control of the environment we want to create for our worship gatherings. It gives us unique opportunities to serve students - through meals, laundry facilities, computing services and just a place to hang out. It also makes us more accessible to students that live off campus. I think we could still do a lot more with what we have.
Historically, ours is a ministry that has been around for over 70 years. That means a lot of people have been connected and have served here. Many have been marked by the Lord during their time in college and recognize the value of this ministry. That gives us a great group of people to partner with - in both prayer and financial support. We could do so much more in utilizing this strength.
Denominationally, wearing the name "Baptist" certainly doesn't endear us to all students. And while we don't make a big deal about it or check anyone's denominational preference at the door, we're also not ashamed of who we are. That same label gives us a great starting point with a lot of students - and also allows us to show that loving Jesus is far more important than whatever "brand" of Christian you happen to be.
Locally, we're supported by an association of Baptist churches. This is yet another strength that we could build on so much more. Here is perhaps our greatest wealth of resources - and far too often I give it very little of my time. Through these churches we have access to missions and service opportunities, discipleship, connections with older believers, the list goes on and on.
Within our ministry, the list of strengths is ever changing because the students involved constantly change. At times we've had great ministries to certain parts of the campus, only to see that door close when one or more people of influence moved on. However, as new students have emerged with a passion to reach the campus, new doors have opened as well. These, too, are strengths we must play to.
Are you considering the particular strengths that your ministry has? Are you seeking to develop those to the fullest? Do you think Reggie's quote could be directly applied to your ministry as well? Is it true that "Our best chance at making our biggest contribution is to get better at what we're already good at?"
What do you think?
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This is really valuable insight. I especially appreciate seeing strengths in areas that aren't as obvious - history, for example - AND even seeing strengths in areas that look like weaknesses (or even do have some weaknesses).
ReplyDeleteIf far more college ministries went this direction, the ministry climate on campuses would be healthier and, I believe, more effective.
There is one tricky thing worth keeping in mind as we play to our ministries' strengths: If we aim to be "full" ministries to college students, we do have to make sure that we don't tilt so far in certain directions that we miss providing balanced discipleship to students. For instance, if we're really awesome at worship experiences, if students come to those but don't otherwise plug in to discipleship, service opportunities, and leadership opportunities, then they might leave college less "spiritually well-rounded" than we would hope.
The same is true for a focus on small groups, social justice, or any other area... If we're students' only college ministry, then our discipleship has to be "comprehensive" (whatever that needs to mean).
Of course, college ministries can choose to be only "complementary," to play only one role in students' development. But they just need to make sure they push students to the other things they need.
This just came to mind 'cause I had a conversation about it this past week. But I know it would be something I'd need to watch out for while following the excellent advice to be "better at what we are."
That's a good point, Ben, and I may have shot off on a bit of a tangent at the end when I threw out Reggie's quote again.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the "well-rounded" opportunities need to continue to exist, but perhaps the way they happen changes as the ministry's strengths change.
For me personally, this post was about recognizing strengths that we have that we are currently not making the most of. And I was especially surprised to see how long that list was!