Ministering among those in poverty has taught me an important lesson. We all need to take a deeper look at ourselves and those who desire to minister among the hurting. It is too easy to mistake responsibility, stability, and morality for spiritual maturity. The person who walks into a church with good morals and a stable life can quickly and easily be drafted into a ministry role. They look safe. They even look godly. But do you know whether or not they are?
The glaring and urgent needs of certain people can cause us to overlook the more hidden spiritual poverty in ourselves and others. Even ministry leaders mistake comfort for Christian maturity. It’s dangerous negligence. It causes those with great spiritual deficits to be deceived. The result can be fruitless ministry at best, and worse, great harm to those being served.
Those who want to make disciples need to be discipled too.
Here are 5 ideas for how to avoid the pitfall of negligence:
Check yourself before you wreck yourself. Examine your life to ensure Christ is in you, that you are holding firmly to the gospel in faith and deed.
Have gospel conversations with people before you have ministry conversations. People can’t share what they don’t have. Before you send someone to share the love of Christ, take time to find out if they have experienced it.
Ask those who want to serve about their daily walk and relationship with Christ. People who serve on the front lines won’t last and won’t be effective operating in their own strength. And they can’t lead people in Christ farther than they are willing to go themselves. Find out how far they have gone for that will tell you how far they can take others.
Stay present in their lives. Jesus sent his disciples out and then held debriefings with them about their experiences. He saw their strengths and weaknesses spiritually. And He provided on-going training. Even in His great commission, the mission came with the promise that He would be with us always. People who serve alone are vulnerable. Don’t let them. If you can’t be there personally, make sure someone is assigned that role. Someone with experience in the exact ministry the person is about to begin can be an ideal choice.
Pray for them. Don’t just pray for those who you and your ministry is seeking to reach. Pray hard and consistently for those who are doing the reaching. Pray proactively to help prevent crises. Provide them with constant air cover as they advance on the front lines of spiritual battle.