3 Keys To Effective Ministry

3 Keys to Effective Ministry

Mark 6:30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to Him all that they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. 32 So they went away in the boat by themselves to a remote place, 33 but many saw them leaving and recognized them. People ran there by land from all the towns and arrived ahead of them.34 So as He stepped ashore, He saw a huge crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Then He began to teach them many things. 35 When it was already late, His disciples approached Him and said, “This place is a wilderness, and it is already late! 36 Send them away, so they can go into the surrounding countryside and villages to buy themselves something to eat.” 37 “You give them something to eat,” He responded. They said to Him, “Should we go and buy 200 denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?” 38 And He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look.” When they found out they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then He instructed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in ranks of hundreds and fifties. 41 Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke the loaves. He kept giving them to His disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 Everyone ate and was filled. 43 Then they picked up 12 baskets full of pieces of bread and fish. 44 Now those who ate the loaves were 5,000 men.

Intro: This morning as we continue through the Gospel of Mark, I think back on all the miracles and mighty works that were done by Jesus we’ve already studied about. We’ve seen the sick healed. The lame walk. The blind receive sight. Demonic spirits cast out. And, even the dead raised. Truly there are some wonderful stories of powerful miracles contained in this Book.

This story we read today about the miracle of feeding a vast multitude of people with only five small loaves of bread and two small fish is a very important story that teaches us much about compassion, faith, prayer, and God’s ability to meet any need. It’s such an important story that it is 1 of only 10 stories that are included in all 4 of the Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, all include this story.

As we look at this important story, there are some powerful lessons for us to learn. I want us to specifically examine what I believe are the 3 Keys to Effective Ministry. In order for the ministries of a church to be effective they must contain these 3 elements. Within the Biblical account of this great miracle we read of in our main text this morning, we see a powerful example of all 3 key elements in play.

Now, listen to me very carefully, if any of these 3 are missing, the church cannot be fully effective at ministering to the needs of the members, or the needs of the lost hurting people in our community around us. It is vitally important that we understand this truth and apply ALL 3 of these key principles to everything we do here at Metro Grace so that we may fulfill our Mission, Vision, and Purpose as a church.

EFFECTIVE MINISTRY MUST:

1. BE BIRTHED OUT OF COMPASSION.

Mark 6:34 So as He stepped ashore, He saw a huge crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Then He began to teach them many things.

Notice first, that the Bibles says, Jesus “had compassion on them.”

Over and over again throughout the Bible we see that our Heavenly Father is a God of compassion:

Psalm 86:15 But You, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,

slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth.

Psalm 145:8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great in faithful love. 9 The Lord is good to everyone; His compassion rests on all He has made.

We also see that the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ was driven by compassion for the lost and hurting people:

Matthew 20:32 Jesus stopped, called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” 33 “Lord,” they said to Him, “open our eyes!” 34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they could see, and they followed Him.