Philosophy of Ministry

The Greek word translated as minister in the New Testament is doulos, which literally means servant. Ministers are servants of God, servants of the gospel of Jesus Christ, servants of fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Ministry involves varying degrees of service, a wide range of personal gifts, and many different dimensions. Whereas one type of ministry may use and emphasize certain aspects, another ministry may utilize and emphasize others. Our philosophy of ministry, taken from scripture and enhanced through experience as youth ministers, emphasizes four dimensions: building relationships, guiding toward holistic lifestyles that are anchored in prayer, creating Christ-centered environments that are open to creative expression, and fostering outward focused and nonjudgmental attitudes. The concept of relationship building is ubiquitous in the Bible. Every time the phrase one another is used, the author speaks to us about how to create healthy and intimate relationships with each other. Perhaps our favorite relationship building passage is in Philippians: Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life. Philippians 2: 3-5, 15-16 Whats more important in building relationships than showing each other that we truly care about the other person? The attitude we have toward each other should be that of Jesus. Show each other the same love that Christ showed us. Encourage instead of break down. An important part of this dimension of ministry is to create intimate bonds that allow communication on even the most sensitive subjects. A strong, healthy, trusting relationship needs to be present for people to confide in one another, and when working with anyone trust is vital. Building relationships is the first dimension of our philosophy because it is infused someway into each of the other dimensions. None of the other dimensions are complete without this first one. Christians are children and heirs of our Father in Heaven and all children need guidance. Hopefully, parents are the most influential guides, but unfortunately this is not always true. From an early age, we are rightly taught to obey our parents, but we should also be taught why. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the Earth. Ephesians 6: 1-3 In this Ephesians passage, Paul tells children to obey their parents, and then he gives them a reason why they should. Notice Paul doesnt just say a trite comment like,

Because God says so, or because its the right thing to do. God wants children to obey their parents to create a healthy lifestyle, one with healthy emotional attachments that will create a much more holistic lifestyle as an adult. Healthy relationships with parents create a less stressful, healthier life in the long run. Of course, not everyone has the best family relationships and they need others to help guide them in their Christian walk. They need someone to help them create the holistic lifestyle that benefits their physical, emotional, and spiritual lives. Since we are all children of our Father, we all struggle with the desire to have a better relationship with Him. We are not simply sacks of bones and muscle, nor are we spirits removed from the physical and emotional world. We are bodies, minds, souls, and spirits. All of these aspects together make us human. A truly holistic and healthy lifestyle balances and enhances each of these aspects. All of these areas of our humanity should be centered on God: (italics are my emphasis) The man answered, You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind. And, Love your neighbor yourself. Luke 10:27

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A Christian holistic lifestyle is one in which God invades everything you do and all that you are. Prayer is essential to surrendering all to God. Our lives must be anchored in prayer not only by asking God for our desires, but thanking Him, praising Him, struggling with Him, repenting to Him, and giving up our concerns to Him. Throughout scripture people talk to God, but prayer is not just talking. Its also listening. Prayer is our line of communication to God. It is our Wi-Fi, our internet connection. When its not working, it becomes much more difficult to live a life full of God. We hope to encourage intimate and regular communication with God. Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Colossians 4:2 Dont worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience Gods peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 The third dimension of our philosophy is creating Christ centered environments that are open to creative expression. To get a better understanding of what is meant by Christ centered environments, look at Deuteronomy: You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall write them on the doorpost of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 11:18-20

This passage mentions three ways that people focus on Gods Word, which we find out in Johns Gospel is Jesus. People should make Gods Word part of their inner being, their soul, their heart. Everything they are should emanate from this center. Gods Word should also be in the external environment (on hands, forehead, doorpost of house). Young adults struggling with who they are especially need to be surrounded by Gods Word in what they see, hear, and feel. The third way mentioned is through communication with others. So, we need to create an environment where Gods Word is a part of the inner spirit and external environment. We should also enable people to communicate more regularly with others about Gods Word. Discipleship is crucial with young people, so that they learn how to talk about God with others, thereby multiplying disciples. Not only should our environments be centered on Christ, they should also allow us the freedom to express ourselves to God creatively by using the gifts he has given us. God is a creative God. Look at a sunset or a sunrise. Examine the back of a leaf. Listen to the music of nature in the morning. Read Chapters 38-42 of the Book of Job. God loves creativity. To quote Mark Buchanan in The Holy Wild: The cosmos is Gods playground, His vast park for playing hide-and-seek. God has given us so much to discover in this world. If we are truly made in His image, then we are creative too. He blessed us with an imaginative mind and abilities that should be used to praise Him and reach out to others. He wants us to write, draw, paint, build, and play music. Environments should not hinder peoples abilities to praise God with what they have and who they are, but should encourage creative expression. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. 1 Corinthians 12:4 Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! Genesis 1:31 This third dimension of creating christ centered environments that allow creative expression is crucial to accomplish the fourth dimension of our philosophy. Fostering non judgmental and outward focused attitudes is something that can and should be done from an early age. Attitude in our culture can have a negative connotation, but attitude is simply the way we approach and respond to others and to situations. Philippians is clear that Jesus Christ had an attitude of selflessness and humility. The attitude we want to develop here is one that looks for and seizes opportunities to show love that does not condemn. Our goal is to also develop attitudes that show everyone, regardless of their situation,(2 Cor. 5:16) that they have unsurpassable worth in Gods eyes. God will judge and condemn all people (Heb. 10:30). Our job is not to judge, but to love and gently hold fellow believers accountable to Christ (1 Cor. 5:12, Rom 14:1). Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:39 Matthew gives us these directives in his Gospel:

Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. Matthew 7:1-2 (Msg.) As you are going therefore, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. Matthew 28:19-20 Consider that there are three imperative verbs in the Greek translation of this verse, and none of them is go. This verse does not speak only to people called to a mission field, but to everyone going about their daily life, whatever that may be. People should be taught to look for opportunities as they walk through life to show people Gods love, teach Christs principles, and to be examples of his disciples. One of our roles is to display for people how to live a life focused on teaching people about Christ during their daily activities. These four dimensions are all accomplished through personal interaction, organized group study, and evangelistic experiences. Specifically, in the classroom varying approaches to education, involving interactive methods and personalized curricula should be used. Everyone learns slightly differently, so lessons and activities should be prepared with that in mind. A diverse assortment of techniques, such as videos, books, visual art, singing, and acting, should be used to break down barriers and stimulate creativity. Deeper discussions and an open forum setting, where they can ask about anything, should be used to get into the meat of scripture. Various methods of contemplation, retreats, reflective videos, movies and TV commentaries on culture and biblical principles, games, and bond-building should be done also to enhance teachings. We do not claim our philosophy to be complete and unyielding. If anything, theres more we can learn from ministry than we can teach. We do believe that scripture is our starting point; and that each of our four dimensions: building relationships, guiding toward holistic lifestyles, creating Christ centered environments, and fostering nonjudgmental and outward focused attitudes originate in scripture and prove themselves in experience. We feel that these aspects will enable us to be real Christians, helping real people, who live in the real world. Just remember the acronym REAL: relationships, environments that are Christ centered, attitudes that are outward focused and nonjudgmental, and lifestyles that are healthy. Our entire philosophy circles around one important dimension: building relationships. Like spokes emanating from the center of a bicycle wheel, the other four dimensions are supported by the first, but all are integral to get anywhere. Christ of course, to follow the analogy, would be the bicycle chain, without which our pedaling accomplishes nothing and the entire mechanism fails.