It’s the people

Dear Pastor,

Have you ever felt like things were going nowhere fast in your ministry? 

Perhaps you’ve looked at your recent accomplishments and felt like not much was really happening. 

I want to tell you that the issue might just be the people. 

Now, before you jump to conclusions, I don’t mean that it’s the people causing your feelings of frustration. Instead what I mean is that it may be your lack of relationship or insufficient quality time with your people that is leaving you feeling empty.

We forget that God created us to be social people. God Himself declared that it wasn’t good for man to be alone. 

God intends that we live together in fellowship and community and perhaps some of the reason you find yourself struggling is because reading a book, looking at a computer screen or studying facts and figures is no substitute for sharing life, laughter, joy and pain together.

Spending time together with people, whether face to face or on the phone, is the premier way to encourage and disciple people and indeed to find our own hope and outlook lifted. 

So without drawing this out any more: please, who can you call today? Who can you visit today? Who can you encourage and/or pray with today?

You may just find as you invest personally in other people’s lives that you have the opportunity to ask about their walk with Christ, share with them some of the powerful promises of Scripture, remind them of Jesus’ commands/warnings and ultimately sharpen and build each other up.

I hope and pray two things for you:

1. That in the midst of any discouragement you will receive from the Lord the strength and hope and wisdom to keep pressing on in Jesus’ name
2. That you will share some time together with another person and you will both be edified and leave rejoicing because of the time spent together. 

You are loved! So glad that we get to be on this journey of ministry together. 

Christ is with us, Christ is in us!

Mike J