Principles for Transitioning in Ministry
“You serve because Christ is king and he has a mission for his church.”
One of the wonderful things about being in young adult ministry is watching people discover the work and purpose of serving Christ. There is no greater joy than seeing the Word of God worked out in the lives of growing disciples.
In our church, when people commit to the process of discipleship, they are committed to working out four major objectives of following Christ. Many of you are very familiar with the four goals of discipleship, as it is part of the ongoing mentorship dialog beginning in lesson one.
The four goals are as follows:
Established in Worship — the disciple must learn that they are learning to fall in love with Christ, which inevitably converts into glorifying him in everything we do.
Established in the Word of God — the disciple learns that to know God’s word is to know him and with that in mind, we must be devoted to knowing him every day in order to become more like him.
Established in the Local Church — the disciple learns that the Bible insists on us being in fellowship and mission in the context of localized assemblies, so attendance and participation is not optional.
Established in the Ministry — the disciple learns that finding purpose in Christ means serving and obeying. This means that the believer will inevitably find their way towards ministry service within their church as ministry outreach into their community.
Ministry service can look many different ways in many different churches, but at Midtown Baptist Temple, this generally means that once a month a member is committed to serving the church on a Sunday morning and/or Tuesday night. The remaining Sundays and Tuesdays in the month, one is expected to attend the main worship service and their “fellowship class” in order to learn the Bible and be energized through engaging with their church family.
When choosing a ministry to serve in, there are many options to choose from, including: Kidtown (children’s ministry), Connections (hospitality), Security and Transportation ministry, Audio/Visual, Worship Team, Food Service Team (Tuesday Night Meal, Sunday morning coffee), and others. These types of ministry have church-wide functions as well as fellowship functions and so you can choose where you will focus your impact. No matter where you choose to serve, it's critical to remember that you aren’t serving to check off a “discipleship box.” You don’t serve for recognition. You don’t serve because you are gifted at it. You serve because Christ is king and he has a mission for his church.
Psalms 100:2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
You serve because God loves people and you should love people and serve them in that spirit.
Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Every ministry and every service area is important to God and to the family of God. So when you are choosing a ministry, choose with the intention of being faithful and committed as long as God would have you there. For instance, if you join Kidtown, be on time and be prepared. Be focused on building meaningful relationships with the kids in your class. In the security ministry, fulfill your responsibilities with integrity. Make sure you are focused on protecting and taking care of people. Don’t be distracted when on duty, but take joy in doing your job well.
Whatever ministry you are a part of, choose to be a part of that ministry until God clearly calls you elsewhere; which leads us to the point of this article. What do we do when we believe God is calling us out of one ministry and into another one? How do we transition in a way that respects and strengthens the body of Christ?
“But with all that, I learned that it is critical to transition with biblical principles in mind.”
As you grow in your faith, it is inevitable that over time your ministry responsibilities will change and perhaps the area of ministry in which you serve will change. When I was a young adult, I started out serving on the hospitality team at my church and did outreach in the jails. I also helped in the sports ministry coaching kindergarten soccer and baseball. Over time, God saw fit for me to serve through cleaning and helping with the church plant in Midtown. Eventually I started working in the student ministry, and I began teaching and counseling with regularity. Now I serve in the College & Young Adult ministry, assist on the academic side of the Living Faith Bible Institute, and help oversee Living Faith Books and the church-wide web ministry. As you can see, in twenty years I have helped in lots of areas of ministry and have seen lots of changes in ministry. But with all that, I learned that it is critical to transition with biblical principles in mind. Here are some questions that you should ask yourself as you consider any transition in ministry.
1) Why is God calling me elsewhere?
When you begin to consider other ministry opportunities, the first thing you should do is to check your motivations before the Lord. The truth is, there are usually only a couple reasons why God might want to move you from one area of ministry to another.
One reason would be effectiveness. God gifted you in a unique way and he wants to use those gifts to further his kingdom. When you first start in ministry, it is sometimes hard to know who God made you to be, but as you grow in your faith, you will begin to discover the specific things that God has made you good at. As you survey the landscape of ministry, it is not unreasonable for you to discover that your gifting might be more suited for a different area of ministry than you are currently in. Finding that fit might be one reason in which you might pray, “God, are you calling me somewhere else?”
The other reason would be sheer conviction. Sometimes there is no denying it, God has placed a burden on our heart for an area of ministry that we just can’t stop thinking about. It might have very little to do with your ministry strengths (though I do often believe there are overlaps) and have everything to do with the Spirit moving in your heart. This persuasive feeling in your life would be another reason to ask God, “Is it time to move into another area of ministry?”
2) Where is God calling me in ministry?
Your motivation or purpose for transitioning from one ministry to another should be specific. If you are praying to the Lord and you are seeking counsel from God’s word and from other leaders in your life, your transition should be precise and purposed.
The last thing you ever want to do in ministry is to leave one ministry in vague anticipation that another “better” ministry opportunity might “pop up” and suddenly take you away. If you are going to announce your departure from a ministry team, it should be with the gracious decisiveness and a plan for transition and training.
Mainly, don’t meander between ministries in anticipation that something more suitable to you and your skill sets will magically appear and swoop you away. God’s not in that, that’s pride (Prov 16:18). Often this kind of behavior and thinking is indicative that a person’s heart is not right toward their current ministry, and the true reason for leaving is discontentedness rather than mission-mindedness. If you need to work through contentment in ministry, follow Christ’s teaching, be humble enough to sit down and work through differences with leaders and peers in ministry.
3) Am I ready for change?
Sometimes in ministry life we will feel conviction and burden in anticipation for a ministry change that might happen months or even years down the line. God knows you well, and he is willing to reveal some of his purposes with the intention that you begin to prepare yourself for a future work.
So maybe it’s not time to transition yet, but simply to begin preparing your life. This may mean more training or learning. This might mean taking classes in LFBI. This might mean taking advantage of experiences that prepare you for ministry.
Whatever the burden, don’t be anxious or “jump the gun” (Prov 21:5). It’s not healthy for you or for the ministry to make a transition that you are not ready for or that your leadership doesn’t foresee.
“Ministry itself has the ability to challenge, train, and conform you to exactly who God wants you to be.”
4) Do I have faith that the ministry I am leaving will continue in strength?
This is a very important question to consider. In times of ministry transition we are always considering whether or not our withdrawal from ministry will leave that ministry suffering in our absence or thriving because of the change.
When I transitioned from the high school ministry to C&YA, this was one of the first things I asked myself. If I leave now, will my replacement be fit to envision and propel the ministry forward? Of course, I spent many years with Jeff Grasher in the student ministry and was very confident in his character and ability to lead the ministry in my absence. Five years later, that has proven itself out and the student ministry is stronger than ever.
As much as possible, we want to consider whether or not we have left the ministry in a place where someone else can come in and pick up right where we left off, or as the saying goes “from strength to strength”.
5) Have I given plenty of notice and helped in the work of replacing myself?
At the point that you have received counsel from leaders and you are confident that the Spirit is leading you elsewhere in ministry, it is critical that we do our best to help replace ourselves. If we are wise, we will always be discipling a potential replacement in ministry. “Always training leaders” is a principle of our church because it’s biblical (2 Tim 2:2) and it promotes continued expansion of ministry, ensuring that current ministry will always be in good hands. You are responsible to endeavor to recruit, train, and serve alongside growing ministers. In some cases, these people will be the people that replace you.
This doesn’t always work out because of timing or circumstances. You may not have a simple or immediate replacement. This is why giving a notice in advance of transition is important, it gives your leaders time to replace you. A month's notice is common and seems most reasonable. In the month following your notice, help the ministry by preparing the ministry for a new person. This might be capturing processes you use or administrative tips that benefit the next minister. Be diligent in your desire to make the transition as easy on the ministry as possible.
6) Am I trusting God for new vision and growth?
Whatever ministry you are being called to, trust the Lord for vision and continued growth in that new environment and work. Ministry itself has the ability to challenge, train, and conform you to exactly who God wants you to be. Don’t take transition lightly, because God is very intentional about where and when he moves you and what he wants to achieve in your life. Be faithful to pray for your ministries, and trust God that wherever you serve, God might bear fruit to the glory of his wonderful name.
Brandon Briscoe is the pastor over C&YA and oversees Living Faith Books publishing.
