SEVEN KEYS TO

AN EFFECTIVE MINISTRY
A Leadership Lifter from Rick Warren
Next to Jesus Christ Himself the greatest model of ministry is
the Apostle Paul. As you do your ministry !hether you"re a
#unday #chool teacher or a lay pastor or any of the many
$arious ministries !e ha$e here at the church you need to
constantly remem%er se$en principles for an effecti$e ministry.
&n Romans '( Paul gi$es us an inside $ie! of his o!n ministry.
$. ') he says *& am myself con$inced my %rothers that you
yoursel$es are full of goodness complete in kno!ledge
competent to instruct one another.+ ,nderline *you"re
competent to instruct one another.+ Paul is saying that you"re
competent to minister. -ou"$e got !hat it takes. -ou don"t
ha$e to feel *& could ne$er do that.+ .ut if you"ll /ust start
ser$ing the Lord He !ill gi$e you the competence you need to
take those first steps.
0he key !ords in Romans '( are the !ords *minister+ and
*ser$ice+. 0he !ord *minister+ is used in $. '1 and the !ord
*ser$ice+ is used in $. '2 3( and 4'. We"re going to look at
these #e$en 5eys to an 6ffecti$e 7inistry. .ut first a little
%ackground.
&f you read do!n this passage you"ll find that Paul had t!o
different types of ministries. A ministry to un%elie$ers and a
ministry to %elie$ers. His ministry to un%elie$ers is $. ')833
!as to share the good ne!s. He says 97y mission in life is to
share the good ne!s !ith as many people as possi%le.+
#pecifically it !as to share it !ith the :entiles those non8Je!s.
He also then had a ministry to %elie$ers in $. 34844. He tells us
his ministry !as to meet the needs of %elie$ers.
What had happened here !as Paul had collected an offering
from the :entile churches all o$er Asia 7inor to %e deli$ered to
the Je!s in Jerusalem !ho had %ecome %elie$ers ; the
Jerusalem church. 0he point & !ant to make is e$ery Christian
needs a ministry and a mission. -ou need a ministry to
%elie$ers and a mission to un%elie$ers. Paul demonstrates this
here.
&n $. '1 !e ha$e Paul"s message. He says here that his message
!as the good ne!s. 0hat"s a good thing to ha$e to share. 0he
mission in life is not to go out and tell people that they"re dying
and going to hell %ut to go out and tell them that they can %e
forgi$en and they can go to hea$en. 0hat"s something & can get
excited a%out. &t"s a positi$e message. &t"s a message of good
ne!s.
Paul"s moti$e in $. '2 !as to %ring glory to :od. He !anted to
%ring glory to :od in e$erything that he did. 6$ery time you
share your faith !ith some%ody you %ring glory to :od. 6$ery
time you tell the gospel to a friend you %ring glory to :od. His
message !as the good ne!s. His moti$e !as to %ring glory to
:od.
$. '< he tells us a%out the miracles that he did. He says that
they !ere all done %y the po!er of the Holy #pirit. 0hey
!eren"t /ust something Paul !orked up on his o!n. :od did
miraculous things. We"$e heard some stories tonight ho!
:od"s done neat things in the li$es of people !ho !ere totally
dedicated to Him. 0hey didn"t happen %ecause of us. 0hey
happened %ecause of :od"s #pirit.
$. '< Paul gi$es us his ministry area. He says it !as from
Jerusalem to &llyricum. &llyricum is -ugosla$ia. He is %asically
saying *7y ministry area =and he had it defined> !as from
&srael to -ugosla$ia.+ :od used him in starting churches all
o$er there. 0hat"s !hat most of the Ne! 0estament is a%out.
His method !as starting ne! churches. He said in $. 3? *&t"s
al!ays %een my am%ition to preach the :ospel !here Christ
!as not kno!n so & !ould not %e %uilding on someone else"s
foundation.+ & had the same am%ition as Paul. & didn"t !ant to
%uild on anyone else"s foundation. & !anted to /ust go and let
the Lord use me to start a church from scratch. @ne nice thing
a%out !hen you start a church yourself you kno! that all the
pro%lems in it are your fault. -ou don"t %lame any%ody else.
Arankly you don"t ha$e to put up !ith any%ody else"s
pro%lems either that you inherited. & can handle pro%lems as
long as & kno! & created them. &t"s much harder to deal !ith
pro%lems you didn"t cause. #ome of you ha$e had to do that in
/o%s that you inherited clean up a mess that some%ody else had
left.
0hat"s the %ackground. & !ant to spend our time on these se$en
keys of an effecti$e ministry. Regardless of !here :od uses you
or ho! :od uses you it has to ha$e these se$en functions to
ha$e :od"s %lessing on it.
1. An effective ministry is based n !d"s
#race.
$. '(8'1 he says *.ecause of the grace :od ga$e me to %e a
minister of Jesus Christ to the :entiles.+ & think the first thing
you ha$e to realiBe is that you don"t deser$e to %e in the
ministry. & don"t deser$e to %e a Christian much less %e in the
ministry. & don"t deser$e forgi$eness much less to %e a%le to %e
used %y :od. 0hat"s an extra added pri$ilege. Constantly !e
need to remind oursel$es :od is using me in this place of
ser$ice in the #addle%ack %ody simply %ecause of His grace.
:race is the fact that :od kno!s e$ery stupid mistake &"ll make
in the ministry and yet He has chosen me. 0hat"s !hat grace is.
Just %ecause you"re ser$ing the Lord doesn"t mean you"re not
going to make any mistakes. -ou !ill. 7any times you"ll
stum%le and you"ll fum%le and you"ll do things that em%arrass
yourself. -ou"ll do the !rong thing and you"ll say *What in the
!orld am & doingC+ Just %ecause you"re a minister of :od
doesn"t mean you"re perfect. -ou"re not. &"m not. None of us
are. :race is the fact that :od uses imperfect people. &f He
only used perfect people to get the /o% done !hat !ould get
doneC Nothing. And if He only used super saints !ho are
mature in e$ery area of life to get the /o% done !hat !ould get
doneC Nothing. We are all .ecomers. We are all on the road. &
like to say that !e"re maturing ministers. We"re not matured
ministers. We"re maturing ministers. While !e"re gro!ing
!e"re gi$ing. While !e"re gro!ing !e"re ser$ing. 0hat"s the
goal ; grace. 7inistry is recei$ed not achie$ed. Just like
e$erything else in your life it"s %y grace. &t"s a gift. 6$erything
:od does in your life through your life for your life He does
%y grace through faith. &t"s not something you !ork for or earn.
-ou didn"t !ork for or earn your sal$ation. -ou don"t !ork or
earn the right to minister. &t"s a gift that :od gi$es us.
#ometimes people"ll say *&"$e got too many faults for :od to
use me.+ & !ant to say *-ou need to understand that ministry
is %ased on grace.+ When some%ody comes to you and says
*Who do you think you are ser$ing there in lay ministry at
#addle%ackC+ -ou say *Wrong Duestion. &t"s not !ho & think &
am. &t"s !ho is :odC+ 0hen you say *&"m a trophy of :od"s
grace.+ 0hat"s !hat !e all are ; trophies of :od"s grace. He
uses $ery ordinary people.
$. An effective ministry is nt n%y based n
!d"s #race& it"s b'i%t n !d"s (rd.
He says *& ha$e the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of
:od.+ What is the gospelC 0he .i%le. 0his is the guide%ook for
ministry. Not anything else. & !ant to encourage you as a
mem%er of the C@R6 to particularly %ecome !ell acDuainted
!ith ' and 3 0imothy and the %ook of 0itus. -ou as someone
!ho"s in$ol$ed in ministry in your church need to %e $ery
familiar !ith these %ooks %ecause they"re !ritten to people in
the ministry. As you read these %ooks read them as Paul !ere
!riting not to 0imothy or 0itus %ut directly to you. 0hey are
guidelines for ser$ice. 0he guidelines that are gi$en in 0imothy
and 0itus are guidelines !e !ant all the people in our church
!ho are ser$ing in the C@R6 in the ministry to %e in$ol$ed in.
&t"s %ased on :od"s !ord.
Acts 3?E43 *& gi$e to you the !ord of grace !hich is a%le to
%uild you up.+ 3 0imothy 4E'18'2 *All #cripture is gi$en %y
inspiration of :od and is profita%le for doctrine reproof
correction and instruction in righteousness that the man or
!oman of :od may %e thoroughly furnished unto e$ery good
!ork.+ Phillips translationE *0hat !e may ha$e the
comprehensi$e eDuipment to ser$e :od.+
0his is our eDuipment our manual our tool.
). T*e t*ird mar+ f a ministry t*at !d
rea%%y b%esses is it"s dne fr !ds #%ry.
&t"s not %uilt to promote a personality. Paul !anted people to
%e more impressed !ith :od than he !anted people to %e
impressed !ith himself. *0herefore & glory in Christ Jesus in
my ser$ice to :od. & !ill not speak of anything except !hat
Christ has accomplished through me.+ He says :od did it
through me. He ser$es in the ministry for the glory of :od.
0his is one of the things that really concerns me a%out super
stars out there in ministry. &t"s $ery important !e realiBe that
:od does things through people. 7any times !hat happens
!hen you start ser$ing in ministry is that your gifts start to
de$elop in one area. 0hey get %igger and %igger and %igger.
#piritual gifts are like musclesF the more you use them the
%igger they get. -ou"re gifted in a certain area and :od"s using
that %ut you kno! of other areas that aren"t up to snuff yet.
-ou say *Ho! in the !orld can & %e teaching a #unday #chool
classC &"m still struggling inG.+ -ou need to realiBe that your
gift is al!ays %igger than you are. -ou need to realiBe that :od
often gi$es His greatest gifts to the !eakest people. WhyC #o
that !e lay hum%le %efore the Lord. And that !e trust Him
and !e don"t think that it all depends on us.
0he person !ho is totally competent in e$ery area of their life
&"m not interested in them ser$ing in our church. 0he one thing
that :od /udges faster than anything else is pride. And the
moment you %ecome filled !ith pride :od takes His hand of
%lessing off your ministry. &"d much rather ha$e some%ody
!ho recogniBes his great strengths %ut also sees his !eaknesses.
Humility is %eing honest a%out your !eaknesses and
recogniBing that your strengths are gifts from :od. -ou don"t
ha$e to %e ashamed of your strength or say you"re not strong in
that area. -ou are. Just recogniBe !ho ga$e it to you. :od ga$e
it to you. #ome of you are good !ith num%ers. #ome of you
are good !ith !ords. #ome of you are good !ith people. #ome
of you are good at organiBing. #ome of you are good at crafts.
#ome of you ha$e musical talent. @thers of usG tough luckH
We"re prison singers ; al!ays %ehind a fe! %ars and ne$er
ha$e the right key. We ha$e a $oice that needs to %e culti$ated
; plo!ed underH .ut the .i%le does say *7ake a /oyful noise.+
6$en pigs can do thatH 0hey"re happy !hen they"re eating.
.ut the fact is you are a %undle of strengths and !eaknesses.
-ou recogniBe your strengths are from :od and you !ork on
your !eaknesses at the same time. -ou do it all for the glory of
:od.
#ome people think Paul had an ego pro%lem. & used to think he
did. #ix or se$en times in the Ne! 0estament Paul says
*Aollo! me as & follo! Christ.+ Would you e$er say that to
some%odyC & don"t think &"d e$er say that. & used to think
*What kind of ego trip is this guy onC+ 0hen & realiBed he !as
/ust %eing honest. He !as making an attempt to li$e for Christ.
He !asn"t saying he !as perfect. He !as saying At least &"m
trying. &"d rather ha$e people follo! some%ody !ho"s at least
making the effort than follo!ing some%ody !ho"s making no
effort at all 88 some rock star or something. -ou should %e a%le
to say !ith confidence *Aollo! me as & follo! Christ.+ &t does
not mean you"$e got it all together. -ou"re ne$er going to ha$e
it all together until you get to hea$en. .ut you need to %e a%le
to say *Aollo! me as & follo! Christ %ecause my heart is in this
direction. 0hat"s !here my heart is. 0hat"s !here & !ant to go.
0hat"s !here & !ant to %e. &"m not perfect %ut that"s !here &
!ant to %e.+ #o !e help people in that kind of ministry.
,. A ministry t*at is effective%y b%essed by
!d is -erfrmed in !d"s -(er.
He says *.y the po!er of signs and miracles through the
po!er of the #pirit & fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.+ &n
John '(E( Jesus is talking. He says *& am the $ine you are the
%ranches. &f a man remains in 7e and & in him he !ill %ear
much fruit. .ut apart from 7e you can do nothing.+ &f you are
not preparing yourself spiritually for the ministry you"re in 88
!hether you"re a greeter or an usher or a hostess or !hate$er
it"s not counting. .ut if you are spiritually preparing yourself
saying *Lord & realiBe that today in our church there !ill %e
(??? plus people !ho !ill come across this patio. 7ay & /ust
touch a fe! of them !ith the lo$e of Jesus Christ.+ 0hen it
counts. -ou do it in the po!er of the Holy #pirit. -ou don"t
/ust do it in the po!er of your o!n personality. #ome of you
are /ust naturally $i$acious. .ut !hat impresses people in a
spiritual sense is !hen some%ody"s had their heart prepared
and lo$e is /ust coming through them. -ou can tell. 6$en if
you"$e only got a split second chance to pat some%ody on the
%ack or care for them it makes a difference.
Iechariah )E1 says *JNot %y might nor %y po!er %ut %y 7y
#pirit" says the Lord.+ ' Corinthians 3. Notice ho! Paul
ministered. 7any of us think that Paul !as a super confident
guy al!ays felt like he kne! e$erything had it all together
ne$er had any dou%ts or fears or failings. 9When & came to you
%rothers & didn"t come !ith eloDuence or superior !isdom. As
& proclaimed to you the testimony a%out :od & resol$ed to
kno! nothing !hile & !as !ith you except Jesus Christ and
Him crucified. & came to you in !eakness and fear and in much
trem%ling. 7y message and my preaching !ere not !ith !ise
persuasi$e !ords %ut !ith a demonstration of the #pirit"s
po!er so that your faith might not rest on men"s !isdom %ut
on :od"s po!er.+ :od says He"d rather take a !eakling and
use them. WhyC .ecause people !ill say *&t must %e :od. &
kno! that person. Look ho! :od is using that person"s life to
effecti$ely change other people to touch children youth
college students men !omen %usinessmen in our church.
@rdinary people %eing used in extraordinary !ays.+ 0hat"s
!hat :od !ants to do. &t"s performed in :od"s po!er. @n my
strength alone & can"t do it. .ut on :od"s strength *& can do all
things through Christ !ho strengthens me.+
.. T*e ministry t*at is effective/ t*at !d
b%esses/ is -%anned accrdin# t !d"s
-'r-se.
Paul says *&t"s al!ays %een my am%itionG+ Circle that. &s it ok
to ha$e am%itionC #ure it is. -ou"d %etter ha$e an am%ition.
-our am%ition %etter %e to fulfill :od"s life mission for your life
and the ministry that He"s gi$en you. Paul says *&t"s al!ays
%een my am%ition to preach the gospel !here Christ !as not
kno!n. .ut no! there is no more place for me to !ork in these
regions. & plan to do so !hen & go to #pain.+ Notice that Paul
made plans. #ome of you think you should /ust get up in the
morning and say *Lord !hat do -ou !ant me to do todayC+
and kind of free8float through life. & don"t think so at all. &
think life"s too important to go !ithout a plan. & think !e need
to %e strategic. &f you read the %ook of Acts Paul had a $ery
clear strategy. His strategy !as to go to the key cities in the
Roman 6mpire and all the places he !ent 88 6phesus Corinth
Philippi Colosse all these ma/or places !ere all trade centers
tra$el centers crossroads in the Roman 6mpire. He said & kno!
& can"t get e$ery!here so &"m going to go to the most strategic
places & can and spread the :ospel there.
:od has gi$en us a tremendous pri$ilege of %eing in one of the
most strategic places in America. @range County has such a
po!erful influence on California. And California has such a
po!erful influence on the ,nited #tates. And the ,nited #tates
has so much po!erful influence on the !orld. &f & kne! a more
strategic place to %e &"d lea$e for it tonight. & !ant my life to
count. &f !e can reach the people in this area ; the mo$ers and
shakers of @range county ; !e !ill ha$e made a significant
dent in the de$il"s territory.
Paul !as strategic. Aortunately !e"re in a strategic area. #o !e
need to take this $ery seriously. People sometimes think
planning is unspiritual %ut & suggest you read all these Pro$er%s
&"$e listed %ecause they all talk a%out ho! :od says He !ants
you to plan. 0he .i%le says it"s foolish not to plan. 0he !ise
person plans. 0hat"s !hy &"$e passed out these Duestions. @ur
staff is continually planning and saying *:od -ou"$e taken us
here so far. No! !here do -ou !ant us to go tomorro!C+
We"re al!ays looking for!ard and planning. WhyC .ecause
souls are in the %alance. We"re talking a%out hea$en or hell
here and eternity in the %alance for many li$es. We take it $ery
seriously to plan and strategiBe and say !hat is the maximum
!ay to use our resources for the glory of :od and take the most
people to hea$en !ith us as !e can on the !ay !hile !e"re
ha$ing funH .ecause you rarely do something unless you ha$e
fun in doing it any!ay. Aortunately ministry is fun. &t"s hard
%ut it"s fun. #ome%ody asked .illy :raham *Ko you e$er get
tired of ministryC+ He said *& get tired in the ministry %ut &
don"t get tired of the ministry.+ 0hat"s true of me. & get tired in
the ministry %ut ne$er tired of it. 0here is nothing more
significant than helping influence people"s li$es in a positi$e
!ay for the :ood Ne!s. 0hat"s !hat you"re doing.
0. It"s s'--rted by !d"s -e-%e.
Here he"s specifically talking a%out financial support. .ut &
think it"s talking a%out financial support in e$ery !ay. He says
*Aor 7acedonia and Achaia !ere pleased to make a
contri%ution. &ndeed they o!e it to the Je!s to share !ith
them their material %lessings.+ & look out at #addle%ack Lalley
and see guys and ladies in their 3?"s and 4?"s at an economic
le$el that it took their parents 1? or 2? years to get to. #ome of
their parents ne$er got to that le$el. -ou"d pro%a%ly agree that
it"s easier to clim% the ladder of success faster than it used to %e.
7any people in this area are li$ing at an economic le$el that
!as a lifetime goal in the last generation to e$entually get to
and they"re already there and they"re still at a young age. No!
you say *What am & supposed to do !ith the rest of my lifeC+
&f there"s anything & !ant to say to this Lalley is &t"s time to
gi$e something %ack. *0o !hom much is gi$en much is
reDuired.+ We gi$e %ack of our time %ack of our money %ack
of our energy and our ser$ice.
0hat makes me think of a story of one time a pastor !as
preaching do!n in the south. He !as getting all !ired up and
says *0his church has got to get up and !alkH+ And all the
people said *Amen pastorH &t"s got to !alkH+ 0hen he said
*Aolks our church has got to get up and run. We"$e got to run
!ith the :ospel.+ And e$ery%ody said *Amen the church has
got to get up and runH Run !ith the :ospel.+ 0hen he said *&
tell you %rothers the church has got to get up and flyH &t"s got
to fly !ith the good ne!s all o$er.+ 0hey said *-es it"s got to
flyH Let it fly.+ 0hen he said *&t takes money to fly.+ And they
said *Let it !alk pastor. Let it !alkH+
&t takes money to ha$e a ministry. &t takes our money and it
takes other people"s money. -ou don"t ha$e to %e afraid of that.
When you teach people ho! to gi$e you"re doing one of the
greatest %lessing you can do for them. -ou"re teaching them to
%e like :od %ecause :od is a gi$er. & used to %e ner$ous a%out
sharing teaching on gi$ing. .ut &"m not at all any more. &n fact
& lo$e to teach on it. & kno! !hat it"s going to do for that
person. 0here are more promises regarding gi$ing than any
other thing in the .i%le. When &"m not %eing generous &"m /ust
hurting myself.
1. A ministry t*at"s effective is bac+ed by
-rayer.
He says *Join me in my struggle Mho!CN %y praying to :od for
me. Pray that & may %e rescued from the un%elie$ers in Judea
and that my ser$ice in Jerusalem may %e accepta%le to the saints
there.+ He says !e /oin in each other"s ministry !hen !e pray
for each other"s ministry. -ou as a part of the %ody of Christ
need to pray not /ust for the area of ministry you"re in %ut you
need to pray for all the other ministries. 0ogether !e"re a
symphony. 6$ery%ody plays their part. 0he tunes are the same
%ut the sounds are different. An o%oe doesn"t sound like a flute
and a flute doesn"t sound like a trumpet and a trumpet doesn"t
sound like a $iolin. .ut !e"re all reading from the same score.
0his is our score. 0he .i%le. &t tells us that !e"re to go out into
the !orld and !e"re to attract !in and de$elop mem%ers into
mature models of Christlike character and conduct and help
them disco$er a ministry in the church and a life mission in the
!orld at each stage and segment of their li$es. 0hat"s our plan.
We"re all !orking to!ard it in $arious areas. #ome people are
on the front end the attraction end. #ome people are at the
!elcoming stage. #ome people are at the incorporating stage
%ringing them into .i%le studies. #ome people are at the
training stage. #ome people are at the sending out stage. #ome
people are at the going out stage. .ut all together it forms a
symphony and makes us the %ody of Christ. He says !e need
to pray for each other.
About Rick Warren
Rick Warren is the founding pastor
of #addle%ack Church in Lake Aorest
Calif. one of AmericaOs largest and
most influential churches. Rick is
author of the Ne! -ork 0imes
%estseller The Purpose Driven Life. His
%ook The Purpose Driven Church !as named one of the '??
Christian %ooks that changed the 3?th century. He is also
founder of Pastors.com a glo%al &nternet community for
pastors.