"The longer you're in ministry, the more discipline it takes to continue to be a growing person."
TROY GRAMLING Lead Pastor
POTENTIAL CHURCH Cooper City, Fla.
A 2013 Outreach 100 Church
TURNING POINTS
A distinct turning point in my ministry was the day I stopped blaming others and started taking ownership of the challenges we faced. In ministry, it’s easy to get frustrated with the congregation, the volunteers and the staff, believing that if “they” would just straighten up and do what you wanted them to do, that the church would be more successful.
One day, I realized that if I took responsibility for what they weren’t understanding and became a better communicator and a more effective visionary —while empowering them instead of disempowering—then we’d be able to be more effective in ministry and reaching others.
By working to become a more intentional strategist, I embarked on a journey of personal growth and began looking at every problem as an opportunity for me to grow, as opposed to getting frustrated by having to wait on others to grow. After all, when the leaders grow, the organization and people in it do, too, making it easier to impact the world.
MEASURING SUCCESS
We measure ministry success by life change. There’s a more strategic way of obtaining metrics, of course, but I look at success as changed lives. It all lies in the stories of people who are not who they used to be spiritually. It’s the stories of people who are beginning the journey. To me, there’s no greater success than seeing someone who either doesn’t believe there’s a God or doesn’t live like there’s a God, not only begin the journey, but become a Christ follower, walk into the water, put on their God jersey and begin to share the transformation that has taken place in their life with others. It really is as simple as life change.
