Yours, Mine, Ours

 

Through the years, I’ve discovered that there are several types of ministry. They generally fit into the category of yours (the church), mine (Mrs. Pastor), and ours (the church and Mrs. Pastor). All of them are good but it’s important to know which it is when you’re looking for help with your ministry. 

Yours

The church will gladly fill and support ministries that they feel are theirs. They need very little encouragement from leadership to get things done in regards to it. It’s really quite lovely to not need to sit on a board or ask people to volunteer for these ministries. 

Mine

The church may or may not help you with this. You will often find that you’re the driving force and if you weren’t around the ministry would not be happening. Often these are things that are close to your heart and are not church specific OR they’re a need you see in the life of the church and want to help create change. It’s important that they aren’t pet projects but that God has specifically asked you to take them on. If not they can cause burn out and division between you and the church. 

Ours

In my opinion, these are the best types of ministries. They use your gifts and talents and the church’s enthusiasm. They can also be a bit like a unicorn. You may think that you’ll never stumble upon such a thing but they do exist. It takes time, prayer, and patience to discover and get these ministries off the ground. 

The important part in ministry is to find a happy mix of yours and mine while searching for ours. I’d love to hear about some of the ministries that you’ve had in churches that fall into the Ours category!