My Top Tips For Surviving Ministry In Hard Places!

My Top Tips For Surviving Ministry In Hard Places!

It’s been an up and down week in Niddrie. A man was stabbed to death in a drug related incident, two young boys crashed their stolen motorbike into a lamp-post being chased by the police, a young man killed himself, there was a knife fight on the steps of the church and an African man was mugged just outside the church building. Then, on Easter Sunday we preached the gospel and a young girl gave her life to the Lord Jesus Christ!

I can tell you that this week I am on my way to T4G in Kentucky and I am dog tired! Sometimes life is such a constant battle here that it can be difficult to catch your breath and remember why it is we do what we do here. Life is fraught, precious and oh so brief for many of those we are trying to reach with the good news and, therefore, we need young leaders prepared for all out war if they want to pursue a ministry in this field. here are some top tips for those thinking about planting churches in housing schemes/council estates:

1. Build a team! If you cannot do this then don’t bother reading on! Go and do something else because you will not make it on a housing scheme for very long without a strong team around you. You will either (1) burn out 0r (2) be ineffective in reaching a broad range of people. Lives are so messy that we can only handle so many at a time.

2. If God has called you then he has called you (whatever you understand “call” to mean!). Be firm in that conviction for you will need to draw on that in the days ahead.

3. Dream big! Don’t let people mess with your vision for these areas. There are many who will just shake their head and pretend that this is the day of “small things”. Sadly, it is more likely the day of “small people” with little faith and no vision!

4. It’s supposed to be scary!!! If you aren’t taking a risk then you aren’t taking a step of faith!

5. Guard your soul for you will need to draw from the wellspring of life in the difficult moments.

6. Guard your heart and watch your character. True character always comes to the fore in times of testing.

7. Surround yourself with team mates who share the vision and will work as hard as you to pursue it

8. You must be the first over the trenches in all the initial work. Don’t ask people to do something you are not prepared to do yourself first. Model it and people will follow. FACT.

9. Allow people to change your mind and your crazy ideas. let people speak into your life and ministry in this way and it will only benefit it.

10. Never let conflict go unresolved in your team. This is a war zone and satan will steal any march he can. Works on schemes don’t crack because of a lack of spiritual interest from unbelievers, but of splits an divisions from so-called believers.

11. Let conflict happen in an open forum so that people on your team can feel free to speak their mind and feel like they are heard.

12. Make use of those around you who are in the battle too! They will have insight and wisdom if you let them participate.

I believe that God is going to do a powerful thing in the housing schemes of our nation over the next 20 years! We keep pressing on!