How to put the Kingdom of God first in your ministry

If we are to be honest, we have to admit one of the key concerns for us as church leaders is how many people participate in the "main" worship service on Sunday morning. It is a challenge to work hard and not always the see the results of our efforts. The key to understanding this, however, is to realize that the results are for the Kingdom. The men and women who find Christ in one of our church ministries are those we will see in heaven, which is our ultimate goal as ministers of the Gospel.

Many churches have ministries for children and youth on Wednesday nights, and some of those participants do not come on Sunday mornings. Maybe you've thought about beginning an AWANA program, Upward Basketball or another type of ministry for neighborhood kids. Maybe you're considering starting a non-traditional church in your community. A few questions may arise quickly for some people in your church. How you will see results on Sunday morning? Will the attendance on Sunday mornings increase as a result of other ministries done on Wednesdays or on other evenings?

Regardless of the answers to these questions, I believe the ministry should still be done. After all, it is Kingdom work. The results we need to be searching for should never be based primarily on the number of people we see coming on a Sunday morning, but instead on those individuals who will be around the Throne Room of God one day. Once, I knocked on a door and a woman answered. She told us she already had a church home. But, she also described in vivid detail how our church blessed her in an immense way when she was a child and how it played a big part in her coming to know the Lord. This encounter continually reminds me that churches may never see the results of all they have done this side of eternity.

There are many times we will not ever know the result of our efforts in ministry. It may take years, even decades, or we may not see anything. But sometimes, God will allow us the amazing privilege to see results of our work. If you feel led by Him to start a new ministry, house church, other language worship service or host other ministries, be faithful, obedient and expectant that He will do a mighty work, and the results of our efforts will be many new believers in heaven one day.

While on the Texas Baptists Disaster Recovery family mission trip in Galveston, I had the opportunity to see the tide rise on the ocean. If the tide rises on the ocean and one boat rises, all of the other boats rise with it. This has led to the term "all boats rise together." The same is true in church. When a church is interested in only seeking out Kingdom results, those results do not come at the expense of your ministry. Rather, they end up helping your ministry grow. Scripture teaches, "Seek first the Kingdom of God, and all of these things will be added unto you." This passage, which is directly related to physical needs, can also be applied to the church. If we as the church put the Kingdom first, then God is going to make sure the needs of the church is taken care of.