Getting Ministry Traction Instead of Just Spinning Your Wheels

“We’re just spinning our wheels” - that’s the way many church leaders and churches describe where they are. The church engine is revving, the wheels are turning, the smoke is flying, but the church really isn’t getting anywhere. Often, there are lots of programs and good activities, but many churches aren’t getting much traction when it comes to impacting the unchurched culture and making disciples who make disciples.

Here are three simple principles to follow that should help you get some ministry traction and stop spinning your wheels:

1. Remember that church revitalization is a spiritual endeavor. It’s not about the latest programs, methods, models or techniques. Remember what Paul said, “So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6, NIV).

This principle was confirmed in a huge way in our study of Comeback Churches. According to Comeback leaders, the key to making a comeback was this - “renewed belief in Jesus Christ and the mission of the church.” That was the highest-rated single item in the study. How simple and basic is that!?

But are we really, truly focused on Jesus and his mission for us? Or do we allow many other things, even many good things, to get in the way of a pure and sincere devotion to Jesus and his mission for us-sending us out into this world as his disciples, his missionaries, his witnesses?

Multiple things can get in the way of churches being able to maintain and develop real spiritual vitality and passionately pursue Christ’s mission:

• Self-focused leadership and churches
• Being under God’s hand of discipline
• Lack of exercising a radical faith and reliance upon God
• Doing instead of being the church
• Watering down or not proclaiming the Gospel
• Distracted from being in love with Jesus first
• Ineffective disciple-making
• Irrelevant ministry
• Pride in our way of doing things

Take some time and reflect on these things regarding your ministry context. Ask God if any of those things are true in your life or the life of your church. Remember that God has made a simple way for us to get things right. Take note of some of the key things that Jesus called his churches to be and do in Revelation 2-3:

• Remember and repent (2:4-5)-remember what it was like to be really in love with Jesus and go back to that place with God’s help.
• Be faithful (2:10)-don’t get discouraged; don’t quit; trust in the one who can see you through the ups and downs of life and ministry and defeat your enemies.
• Repent (2:16)-stop teaching or stop those who are teaching false doctrine; stop compromising on clear issues of immorality.
• Hold on to what you have (2:25, 3:11)-biblical teaching, life change, good deeds, real life, and genuine faith.
• Wake up (3:2-3)-engage the living God; engage the changing culture with the unchanging truth.
• Be earnest and repent (3:19-20)-live with true purity; acknowledge your spiritual poverty; look at things the way God sees them.

2. Simplify. Simplify. Simplify. One of the biggest keys that stood out in the study of Comeback churches was intentional and strategic action. Comeback leaders didn’t waste motion and energy. They didn’t try to do it all. They did key things like pray strategically, conduct intentional outreach events, and involve as many people as possible in ministry.

In the coming year, how could you simplify your ministry process and focus on Jesus and his mission for your church? How could you practice simple obedience to the commands of Jesus to make disciples, baptize them, and then, teach them to observe his commands?

That raises one specific issue to evaluate in your ministry context: Are people being taught truth or taught to observe that truth? Simply making an adjustment regarding that one issue could transform your ministry, but it won’t be easy. The best resource to help you simplify is Simple Church by Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger.

3. Changes will be necessary, but making changes won’t necessarily be easy. Some have said that doing the same things the same way and expecting different results is . . . well, the definition of insanity. Change could mean that there are things we need to stop doing; change could mean that there are things we need to start doing; change could mean doing what we are doing differently; change could mean that I’m stuck and my life needs to be transformed in a fresh way by the power of the Gospel.

Did you realize that the power to change comes from placing faith in the Gospel? That’s right. The good news of the Gospel is not just about God’s power to get people out of hell and into heaven. In Romans Paul stated, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘But the righteous man shall live by faith’” (Romans 1:16-17, NASB).

As you trust God to make changes, keep these things in mind:

• People respond to change differently - a few people will be ready to change quickly; a few more will get on board as you begin to make changes; some will wait and see what happens as changes are made; some will go along; and a few will probably never be favorable toward change.
• Create a climate where change is welcomed and anticipated - develop trust with the people you serve, model the changes you desire to make; understand the church’s history; work with key influencers among the people; and earn the right to make changes.
• Take your time leading established churches to make changes - don’t be in a hurry; help people see the reality of the situation; focus on making renewed disciples in Jesus Christ.

It’s easy to get to a place in ministry when it feels like the church is just running in place, spinning its wheels, and going nowhere fast. But things don’t have to stay that way. God desires to renew and revitalize his people and help them start moving forward again. Get some traction in your ministry. Don’t settle for just smoking the tires - let God rekindle a spiritual fire in your life and ministry.

Ed Stetzer (Ph.D.) is author of Breaking the Missional Code, Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can Too and Planting Missional Churches. He currently serves as the Director of LifeWay Research. You can interact concerning this article at www.edstetzer.com.

Mike Dodson is co-author of Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can Too. He has served as a pastor and church strategist for more than 10 years and holds a Doctor of Missiology degree. He lives with his wife and children in Meadville, Pennsylvania.