Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PRINCIPLES
OF
MINISTRY
(POM)
“And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast
received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.” Col. 4:17
Copyright © by Word of Faith Bible Institute
38, Raji Oba Street, Iyana Ipaja,
P. O. Box 3459, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria
All Rights Reserved.No portion of this Outline may be used without the written permission of the Institute
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REFERENCES
1. Towards Excellence in Life and Ministry. Dr. David 0. Oyedepo.
2. Exploits in Ministry Dr. David Oyedepo
3. Seven Steps to Excellence in Ministry Kenneth Copeland
4. Practical suggestions for successful Ministry. Dr. Fred K.C Price.
5. Understanding Divine Direction Dr. David Oyedepo
6. How to be Lead by the Spirit of the Lord Kenneth E. Hagin
7. The Potential Principle. Edwin Louis Cole.
8. Understanding Vision Dr. David Oyedepo
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COURSE OBJECTIVES
To familiarise the students with the fundamentals of Ministry.
To help students acquire the details on how to start a ministry and run
the ministry.
To equip the students to deal with oppositions in the process of
running the ministry, and
To possess the adequate steps to be taken to enjoy growth in ministry
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
REFERENCES 2
COURSE OBJECTIVES 3
LECTURE ONE
Lesson One Introduction 5
Lesson Two Call To Ministry
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Lesson Three The Foundation For Ministry 9
Lesson Four The Place Of Vision And Dreams
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Lesson Five Faith 14
LECTURE TWO
Lesson Six Wisdom 15
Lesson Seven Diligence 16
Lesson Eight Discipline 17
Lesson Nine Focus And Zeal 21
Lesson Ten Relationship 23
LECTURE THREE
Lesson Eleven Provision For Ministry 24
Lesson Twelve The Essence Of Power (Unction) For Ministry 27
Lesson Thirteen Confidence And Integrity 29
Lesson FourteenProblem / Crisis Handling 30
Lesson Fifteen Organisational / Administration 31
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LECTURE ONE
LESSON ONE
INTRODUCTION
DEFINITIONS:
a) PRINCIPLES:
The guiding factors around an issue or the ways to get a thing done.
Guiding rule or fundamental truth that makes something effective.
Different rules to arrive at different results.
Nothing functions without a principle.
Col. 4:17 ..say to Archippus that he take heed to the Ministry that he has
received from the Lord that the fulfil it.
It is one thing to receive a Ministry from the Lord and another thing to
fulfil it. One has to follow the principles or understanding the fundamental
controls to its fulfilment.
b) What is a MINISTRY?
This is the placement of a man by God to fulfil the plan of God for him on
earth. In essence, it is a stewardship or tool for Divine accomplishment. It
is a human. gift by God with a commission both to the body of Christ and
the world at large. Ministry is working divine plans.
c) CONTENT:
Ministry is not a struggle or a technique or a pack of codes. Rather it is like
a package of Divine operations in a man and unveiled stage by stage and
from time to time. The New testament contains a lot of Ministries among
others (Eph. 4:11-13; Rom. 12:4-8). They are put into individuals by the
Holy Ghost (I Cor. 12:4-7, 11). And through these individuals these
operations flow into the body of Christ and the world at large.
d) THE NATURE OF MINISTRY
Every form of Ministry you can think of is an extension of Jesus' Ministry.
Jesus laid the foundation of Ministry and we are called to build upon the
foundation. We cannot understand the nature of ministry except we
understand the Ministry and activities of Jesus. Invariably, the study of
Ministry is the study of
Jesus' life and activities.
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From Lk. 4:18 &19 the purpose of Ministry is four - fold
PREACH
HEAL
DELIVER
RECOVER
In Matt. 10 :7 & 8 Jesus charged his Disciples to do likewise.
To know a true or genuine Ministry find out whether:
a) They preach the Gospel or merely tell stories;
b) They Heal the sick or explain miracles away;
c) They deliver or they themselves need deliverance;
d) They recover and restore or impoverish people.
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LESSON TWO
CALL TO MINISTRY
In this lesson, we shall examine:
1. How do you know your calling ?
2. How do you understand your calling ?
Rom. 1:1 “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle,
separated unto the Gospel of God.”
There are seeds to Divine call in believers which need to germinate, grow
and mature into fruition. Every one in the body of Christ has a duty to
perform.
A discovery of the individual function is called a 'VISION'. This is
knowing where you belong and what to accomplish in His body.
Adherence to this function is your Ministry. A call into the Ministry is the
absolute prerogative of God (Heb.5:1,4, Jer. 23:21).
Every one born of the Spirit has a Ministry, there is a call of God on your life
and you are not where you are by accident. You are right now occupying a
particular stage in God's calling on your life. Never see your calling as
inferior, everyone needs each other and it is God who places His men in
strategic positions. The major task is - what am I designed for? No matter
what it is, God's strength brings the victory - and this strength is only
available in God's direction (Acts 9:19-31, Acts 11:19-26).
For those called according to God's purpose, even circumstances reveal the
commission in their lives. Once your call is known, there is need to prove it
beyond doubt ( 2 Tim. 4:5; Judges 6:36-40). He sends strength with the
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calling. Once you start struggling in the flesh - check your calling. What
were you designed to be?
WHY ARE YOU IN MINISTRY?
This is a fundamental question that must be answered by every individual
who claims to have the call of God upon his life.
Essentially, Ministry is service and success in Ministry begins with service.
Ministry should not be seen as a means of livelihood i.e your can to Ministry
should be because you want others to live, not because you want to get a
living -- you don't live on others, but living for others.
Going into Ministry is signing into a life - time of service.
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LESSON THREE
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this world. If you don't have the precise key to a situation, you will be
under its yoke.
There are keys to: Answered Prayer, Success, Prosperity, Health, etc.
Success is at the bottom of the ladder. Once the beginning is faulty, the end
will be faulty.
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LESSON FOUR
"And it shall come to pass afterwards that I will pour out my spirit upon all
flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall
dream dreams. Your young men shall see visions." (Joel 2:28).
An individual who discovers God's plan for his life is said to have a vision.
Standing in the function - plan is his Ministry. The end time army of God
(Joel 2: 1 -1 1) is made up of specialists. They know their positions and
their tasks.
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an unaccomplishable task. Your progress can only be measured when
you know what to do.
Hab. 2:1,2; Acts 7:22-35; Dan. 12:4,7-8. God's time is the safest and is
always in the favour of his child (Eccl. 3:11). Your Ministry has to grow at
God's pace otherwise it may hit the rocks, Every divine vision has humble
beginnings and it never gets fulfilled until the fullness of time. Fullness of
time is a function of fullness of yieldedness, so the individual contributes to
its arrival. Is. 5:1-7.
The time set can pass without fullness being achieved. This is because the
individual has not come to the level where he can handle the
responsibilities that God built into the vision.
The higher the faithfulness, the shorter (in terms of years) the time the
individual arrives at the appointed time/fullness of vision. * He not only
gives assignments, but also give the strategies for executing the
assignments
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from stage to stage. The following attitudes will enable one to receive the
signals as they are given by God.
a) Watch the pillar of cloud or fire Ex. 13:21,22. The glory cloud or the
presence of God determines when to move and the direction to follow.
Stay where the cloud is that is your Divine signal.
b) Avoid looking for short-cuts. (Ex. 13:17-18). He did not lead
them through the way of the Philistines which is short. Don't go
looking for short cuts. It might be a way out of God's plan. They would
never have reached Canaan by the short cut.
c.) Yield to His directions: Ps. 32:8,9. He is the one leading. He
must be at the front while you follow. Don't be bent in a particular
direction. just flow with His directions.
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LESSON FIVE
FAITH
Ministry has life. It is never static consequently it grows. Every calling has
a small be just like every great tomorrow has an ordinary beginning. (Zac.
4:10).
However, the growth rate has human factors, which is your investment or
the price paid for growth.
These price or investment can be viewed from the perspective of our
subsequent rungs on our ladder of Excellence in Ministry:
FAITH: This is the 2nd rung of the ladder of Excellence in Ministry. Faith
is very essential to growth and success in Ministry. " Faithful is he that
called you, who also will do it " (1 Thess,5:24)
The caller is the doer. But the called must put Faith in the Caller to do it,
i.e. allow Him to do it.
Exploit is impossible without Faith ( Lk.1:45). Ministry does not take
Might, it takes Faith ( Heb. 11:1- 3, 6,11,17-18, 24-35; 33-35)
Faith simply means I BELIEVE GOD CAN AND I BELIEVE GOD WILL!
ABILITY & WILLINGNESSGOD'S SIDE.
BELIEVE MAN'S SIDE.
Faith cometh by hearing the Word of God on regular basis (Rom.10:17)
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LESSON SIX
WISDOM
rd
(3 Rung of the ladder)
Ministry can be compared to a house (Prov. 24 3; 9 1). Without Wisdom,
one can ruin or destroy the work he is doing. Ps. 104: 24; Prov. 4 7; 24: 3-
6; Eccl. 8: 1-2; Prov.16: 20.
Wisdom is the profitable, sensible, laudable handling of events.
Wisdom is understanding the "hows" of events - It is the handling of the
"hows" of a Ministry.
If one misses the "hows", he enters into struggles i.e begins to operate by
trials and errors. Eccl. 10:10 Wisdom is profitable to direct. How do I
receive Wisdom for growth and success in Ministry?
Ask (James 1:5)
Through Interaction with re- known people operating in Wisdom or by
proxy - through reading or hearing the materials (teachings) from such
persons (Jude 2:5;
Reading and studying the Word of God gives Wisdom.
(2 Tim 3:15)
Using Wisdom - Wisdom multiplies through usage.
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LESSON SEVEN
DILIGENCE
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LESSON EIGHT
DISCIPLINE
This is the Fifth Rung of the Ladder of excellence. It takes discipline to
maintain any growth and success attained in Ministry. Diligence helps to
create success but it takes discipline to maintain it.
“Woe to thee, 0 land, when thy King is a child, and thy princes EAT IN
THE MORNING. Blessed art thou, 0 land, when thy King is the son of the
noble, and thy princes EAT IN DUE SEASEON, FOR STRENGTH, AND
NOT FOR DRUNKENNESS."
Lack of self - control manifests when Rulers and Leaders behave childishly
and their princes and their assistants begin their day by satisfying their
appetites
If the Top is your goal, then self - control must be your choice.
To attain your highest potential in Ministry, you must be ready to leave the
comfort zone -No one dwells in the comfort zone and still get to the top.
Aspects of Discipline
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i) Sleep
This is a mark of indolence in Ministry when not controlled.
Prov. 20:13 “Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty, open thine
eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.”
Prov.6:4“Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids"
When you fail to control sleep, then you aim for shame
(Prov.10:5)
Love of sleep amounts to laziness or slothfulness which
leads to total breakdown (Prov. 24:30-34)
ii) Pleasure
You must learn to separate pleasure from
Ministry. Don't go seeking after pleasure in Ministry, it leads
to poverty (Prov. 21:17).
iii) Mouth
Learn to control your mouth - Don't open your mouth to say
just anything. James 3:2 “For in many things we offend all. If any
man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also
bridle the whole body.”
* When you keep your mouth, you keep yourself from trouble
(Prov. 21:23)
* Your mouth determines your life (Prov. 18:20-21)
iv) Strife
This is related to envy and connotes the vice of selfish
ambition that promotes own interests. 2 Tim. 2:24 "And the servant of
the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach,
patient."
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* It is the path of honour to avoid strive.(Prov. 20:3; 25:8;26:17)
v) Time
This is a principal raw material for the production of success in
Ministry - Time wasted is success forbidding.
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CHARACTERISTICS OF TIME
It cannot be stopped.
It cannot be stored.
It cannot be stretched.
It can be managed.
If you sleep 8hrs. a day, at 70yrs., you would have slept for 204,400hrs.
that is, one third (1/3) of your years.
Don't spend your life; invest it What you spend is spent but what you
invest yields dividend.
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LESSON NINE
FOCUS AND ZEAL
A) FOCUS
Until you have a focus, you can never become a focus. To be effective in
Ministry it is important for you to understand the nature of your assignment
and keep to it at all cost.
You are called into Ministry, so Ministry should be your focus - not
politics, not merchandising, etc. (Matt. 6:22). DEFINE YOUR FOCUS
AND KEEP REFINNING IT FROM TIME TO TIME!
If you are in Ministry, you are called for a specific purpose and sent to
specific individuals, so keep doing it. (1 Cor. 7:20,24) - Abide in your
calling.
When ever you loose focus, you become vulnerable to shame, attacks etc.
(1 Kgs.20:39-42)
If you don't know what to live for, you won't know what to run from.
When someone is messing up, another man is warming up to take his place
(The case of Saul & David) AVOID RUNNING YOUR LIFE ON PUBLIC
OPINION!
Don't cast aspersion on other Ministers - Run on your own path (Joel
2:3,7,8.) "....Take heed to the Ministry you are given..(Col. 4:17). The
athletes get the crown (trophy) only when they run along their paths -
keeping the rules of the game. You cannot end up being the best running
on another manes lane.
Until you loose focus, you can't sink (Matt. 14:28-32; Heb. 12:2). Jesus
was the author of Peter's faith, but the wind almost finished it.
When you are unstable don't expect yourself to excel in Ministry (James
1:5-8; Gen 49:13)
B) ZEAL
This is a divine drive that gives motion to one's vision. It is an
emotional force that propels a man towards his set goals.
* It is a momentum - a propelling inner force that radiate on the outside.
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Concerning Jesus Christ, the Bible says “The zeal of thine house hath eaten
me up” (Ps. 69:9; Jhn. 2:17)
He demonstrated this zeal throughout His earthly Ministry (Jhn.4:34;
Heb.12:2).
Paul was a very zealous apostle (Phil. 1:21; l Cor. 9:16; 15:31).He had a
mission, a cause and embarked on the accomplishment of his task with all
vigour - His zeal knew no bounds.
If you cling to your life in this world instead of facing up the challenges,
blocking the fulfilment of your vision, then you end up loosing your life
(Maft.10:39; Jhn. 12:24).
When zeal is fired up by knowledge, exploits in Ministry becomes
automatic (Rom. 10:2-4)
To keep the momentum, you need to keep tapping it ( e.g a football keeps
moving through kicks and taps). When the zeal is high, you can do all
things. How do you keep the tempo of the zeal?
i. Go for renewal - you need to go for renewal to obtain new fire. Have
fellowship with God (lKgs.19:9-18).
LESSON TEN
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RELATIONSHIP
(LAW OF COMPANY ECC. 4:1 0; PROV.27:17)
In ministry, covenant connections are evitable - It is a must to maintain a
form of relationship or another.
It is not possible to make success in Ministry alone, when we identify our
area of calling, we should find someone with identical/similar Ministry and
link up for the purpose of lifting up each other. The Bible tells clearly on
the power of partnership.
It is not safe to be alone neither is it safe to join anybody (Prov. 13:20.
From Eccl.4:9-12, there are three benefits brought out from the passage:
i) Restoration (vs.10)
ii) Motivation (vs.11)
iii) Strength (vs.12)
Jesus believes in relationships or partnership - He sent His disciples out in
pairs and encourages same in Ministry. (Matt 18:16; Mk. 6:7; 14:13; Lk.
10:1; Jhn. 8:17). This provides for each one double Faith and wisdom; and
helps bolster courage.
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i) Relationship with a superior or senior.
*The essence of relating with someone who is senior to you in Ministry is
to receive guidance, counselling, instructions and corrections - It is learning
to follow the steps of an elder (someone who has obtained what you have
not obtained) (Heb. 6:12).
* When you relate with someone above you, you must guide against
seeking faults - rather you seek for fruits (Matt. 11:6).
* This kind of relationship positions you at a receiving end. (Heb. 7:7)
ii) Relationship with a colleague, an equal or friend.
The essence of this relationship is for mutual sharing - mutually
provoking each other to greater heights (Prov. 27:17)
You challenge each other for progress and come to the aid of each other
in hours of need.
EVERY IRON SHOULD LOOK FOR ANOTHER IRON TO SHARPEN
WITH.
When you relate with colleagues or equals, you must learn to keep your
confidence and don't be domineering.
iii) Relationship with a younger person (junior in Ministry)
The essence of this relationship is give you the opportunity to mentor
others.
Basically that of giving and being a blessing.
The basic guiding rule is - DO NOT BE INTIMIDATING! Allow liberty to
grow and realise your purpose raising them.
Various levels of Productive Relationship:
Mutual submission (He has what you are looking for)
Ministerial Aspirant (Mutual understanding & sharing)
Mutual Aspirant for instruction (Is. 9:16)
Your vision is integrated into the Mission with a purpose. In the upper
hand relationship you must meet with one superior to you for the purpose
of counsel. It will help you get to where they are.
In the horizontal direction you have a running mate. Below you are people
who look up to you for inspiration. You cannot be the Alpha and Omega of
your Ministry.
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LESSON ELEVEN
Educate the people to be involved not just for the sake of the Ministry but
for themselves also. When you deny them the opportunity to sow, you
deny them the opportunity to harvest. Exo. 35:4,5.
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Make sure that the project you embark on per time is commensurate to your
size. Do not embark too early on capital projects.
LEARN TO TAKE THE LEAD, SHOW EXAMPLE IN SOWING.
Ministers are sowers of Spiritual seeds. Each reaps where he sows Rom.
15:27. God makes it a duty to people who you minister Spiritual things to
Minister their material things to you.
Those who minister the power of God unto salvation shall live by it. It is
not your duty to caress a man to give. Give them the word according to the
leading of the Holy Ghost and let them make their decisions.
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LESSON TWELVE
*It is unction that helps you to power - steer you Ministry. Without unction
you cannot function.
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you stir up the gift of God in you and you are exchanging eternal views
with God.
d) Fasting: Is. 58:6-12. Fasting refines the spirit, soul and body. They
that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. You must create
this opportunity to enhance your spiritual output.
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LESSON THIRTEEN
B) Integrity
There are two key words used to define integrity:
i. Honesty
ii. Morality
i) Desire it
ii) Decide to pursue it, once you take a quality decision for it, you have
energy to pursue it.
iii) Be accountable
LESSON FOURTEEN
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PROBLEM/CRISIS HANDLING
Change: Growth means change and motion will cause friction. There is a
covenant victory to every problem. Never let a problem distract you from
your objective. Move it but don't let it move you.
Paul said - none of these things move me. Develop a superiority complex
over any problem and draw inspiration from Joshua and Caleb.
Size your problem with your captain - Jesus. “I am well able” is the
language of every victor.
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LESSON FIFTEEN
ORGANIZATIONAL ADMINISTRATIONS
The strength of the system is determined by the people who make it up. The
man at the top is a primary motivator. Below him are executors. If the
motivator is struck, the executors drift. He must have inner strength with
oil.
He must have inner strength that can push the system forward.
He has the responsibility of placing the executors. Your executor must
believe in your spiritual authority and social integrity. The best way to
raise executors is to let your spirit loose upon them. Speak to them, lay
hands on them, anoint them with oil.
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