In the previous newsletter – Ministry Health Check-up, I suggested at least four criteria to help us evaluate the health of our ministry. With this article we examine the first criteria – spiritual health.
The fact that Teen Challenge is an evangelistic discipleship ministry brings clarity and focus to our mission. So, the spiritual health of our ministry is key to our purpose. We all know that the spiritual atmosphere of our program ebbs and flows; there are the valleys and there are the mountain tops. There have been times that God’s presence has been so powerful in the ministry that we wanted to just pause and hang out there. We hope it never ends. And then there are those other times! You know – when you want to dismiss every last student and start over (maybe)!
Teen Challenge is truly on the front lines of spiritual warfare. An encounter with the Presence of Christ is the key to true life-transformation. So our primary passion and purpose is for our students to encounter Christ. As Doug Wever says: “On our best day, our work is to provide the most conducive environment for the work of the Holy Spirit in the students lives.”
Think of your personal physical health for a moment. How is your physical health determined? It is determined by our dietary and exercise habits. Unfortunately, there are no immediate results when we eat one healthy meal or go to the gym once. Oh how I wish it were true! But, health is determined by daily, ongoing choices and habits.
And so it is, the spiritual health of the ministry is the fruit of spiritual habits. By looking at the choices we have made for the past days, weeks and years we can see how we have gotten to where we are both physically as an individual and spiritually as a ministry. There are no fingers to be pointed at others. We determine the habits that will impact the spiritual health of our ministry for the long term. What are the ministry habits that we should be practicing daily in our ministry? Listed below are a few habits for consideration. Feel free to add to the list.
Remember we are modeling for the students the habits (or lack thereof) that we want to see them implement in their personal lives for the rest of their lives.
- Prayer
- Worship
- Discipleship
- Evangelism/Service
- Sabbath – I have to comment on this one. Why do we so easily excuse this one? We all need not only physical rest but we need spiritual rest – time for reflection and waiting on God (Isaiah 40:31).
Think about it
- This evaluation is for the ministry as a whole.
- Have we become merely an institution – policies and procedures – just a program?
- What are the habits that are necessary for the health of the ministry? List them.
- Does the student daily schedule reflect that these are priorities?
- What steps will we take to protect and ensure their regular practice?
- How often will we evaluate the spiritual health of our ministry?
- Who will be responsible to lead this evaluation?
Scriptures for Consideration:
- 1 Corinthians 3:18
- Ephesians 1:18-21
- Psalms 16:11
