The concept of success carries a wide range of meanings, but the definition that most frequently comes to mind is improvement: being better than you were before, better in the context of what has been, and better in light of what could be. To achieve this growth, we must evaluate our current standing against our potential for progress.
While teaching my daughter to ride her bike, I noticed that as she improved, we had to adjust her training wheels. To achieve success at a higher level, she had to adapt to these incremental changes. This experience serves as a powerful metaphor for ministry: if we want to be successful and effective, we must be willing to evolve. Without the ability to adapt, we risk failing to finish our race or, at the very least, failing to finish strong.
It is essential to build check-in moments throughout the ministry calendar to identify when a change in strategy is necessary. This approach is twofold: we must be leading through new ministry seasons with intentionality and clarity, while also adapting to weaknesses that could otherwise hinder our long-term progress.
1. If we don’t adapt we can get too comfortable. In ministry it is easy to just expect each week and each ministry activity to be the same. We can form a sort of ministry autopilot syndrome where we just coast and can’t remember how or why we’re doing ministry. Churches who don’t adapt to the changing times or to their environment end up being white noise or the building in the community that people know is there, but don’t pay attention to. We can’t afford to be that building or to be seen in that way with the amount of work that needs to be done for the gospel.
2. If we don’t adapt we can miss opportunities to do meaningful ministry. One of the key features of adapting in the right way and at the right time is being able to take advantage of opportunities that come your way. There are several examples I could name, but one that really stands out is the somewhat recent move for ministries to fully adopt online ministry as a real platform for reaching more people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Now I understand that even as I type these words, some ministries haven’t fully embraced this kind of ministry. I was just at a meeting at Facebook, and we discussed this ministry opportunity and the reality that many churches haven’t used the tools provided. If they don’t adapt to the fact that there are exponentially more people online than can fit in their buildings, it only hurts their ability to minister to all people. I’m not suggesting that churches have to change everything in their services, but they need to be mindful of the people who might want to worship online with them and be impacted by their services.
In this area, as with any other area of ministry, it’s important to understand and acknowledge that if we don’t adapt, opportunities will pass us by. As a church, we don’t want to be Blockbuster, Kodak, Yahoo, Atari, Myspace, etc. We have to be willing and looking to adapt in order to have real and sustainable success in every area.
How are you adapting your ministry?