MINISTRY SELF EVALUATION

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A Paper

Presented to

Dr. Terry Faulkenbury

Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary

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In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Course

EVAN 510 Evangelism and Church Growth

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by

Christopher Bigger

March 2010
 MINISTRY SELF EVALUATION

This paper will address the current state of my personal ministry as well as outline future

plans of integrating material learned in this course to my ministry through analysis of my

leadership style, how I model ministry, application of church growth principles, how I approach

discipling within my ministry, what part prayer plays in my life, and how I handle church

conflict and revival. Through self evaluation in each of these areas a plan for future ministry will

be developed.

The leadership style that best describes my ministry is one of leading by example, just as

Jesus displayed to his disciples in the Gospel of John.

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place.

"Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. "You call me 'Teacher'

and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have

washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that

you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his

master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these

things, you will be blessed if you do them. John13:12-17 (NIV)

Through His simple act of servitude, Jesus set an example that all Christian leaders should

model. I have seen my ministry evolve in this aspect over the past few years as I have become

more active in both Bible study and leadership within the church. I can see that over the years I

have come to understand the significance of serving through leadership rather than leading to be

served. The first leadership position that I undertook as a step in ministry was to direct one of the

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youth programs at a former church. This was several years after I had become a Christian and I

thought that I understood how to lead, this was a mistake on my part as I did not commit myself

to service to my Lord. I went about trying to micromanage each aspect of the program and while

the program did flourish, I did not experience the joy of serving that I now see in my ministry.

Through examination of my leadership style and analysis of Jesus’ example I altered my style to

take more responsibility of the service itself, rather than leading by telling others what to do.

This change on my part resulted in more leadership opportunities being directed my way and

today I can say that emulating my Savior’s example of servant leadership is the only way that I

want to serve in the church today. In the future I see the need to continue emulating the example

set by Jesus. Through total submission to His will and continued study of the word, I will be an

example to those around me. By pouring the knowledge that I have gleaned over the years to

those that are set in my path, I can point the direction to being more like Christ in all aspects of

life.

The process of growing the church through the organic ideas of plowing, planting and

harvesting are new to me in the aspect that I have not thought of organizing ideas in this manner.

We are called to be responsible to all that come in to our buildings, but the Great Commission

calls us to go and make disciples of all nations. This, while not a new idea, is one that is not

practiced on an intentional level today. Our churches are very good at sending people on mission

trips, but not equipping them to live on mission. This lack of preparation on our part is

contradictory to the idea of plowing, or rather preparing our fields, for the coming seed planting.

Going out and preparing both the ministry field and the lay ministers is an important part of

winning souls to the Kingdom. The next portion of the growth process is the planting of the seed

in the hearts of those that we are trying to reach. This is a difficult process because like so much
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of our life, we expect instant results. This expectation is outlandish as all things in the life of the

church are according to God’s will, plan and timing. Through the diligent planting of the Truth

through outreach, upholding and training the body, and living out the calling of Christ in our

lives the church will see growth through its efforts. The final step of harvesting is something that

is best described by David Wheeler in his discussion on Innovative Outreach “The goal is not to

encourage the total abandonment of all current activities, but to insert intentionality into every

aspect of how the church is manifested and mobilized into the community.” 1 This insertion of

intentionality encompasses all that we do in the church to live our lives on mission in order to

provide the picture of hope to the lost world that we live in. This gives the ability to harvest those

that God has prepared to bring into the fold of His flock. This entire process impacts me

especially due to the fact that the primary focus of my current ministry is on the youth of the

church. Providing both lesson and example through my actions and teaching will provide a

glimpse of the model that Christ gave to us.

Looking at going “back to basics” in observance of the church as set up by Christ is a

task that needs to be undertaken in order to demonstrate the relational importance of Christianity.

In our culture emphasis has been placed too much on the church being a building and not the

body of the Kingdom of God. This needs to be combated to our fullest through proclamation of

the caring, loving grace that is freely available to those that believe. Dr. Wheeler points out that

if we view church as existing in a separate location from which we live, it becomes easy to

ignore ethical mandates and especially Great Commission responsibilities related to outreach.2

1
Jonathon Falwell. Innovative Church, (Thomas Road Baptist Church, Nashville, TN: B&H
Publishing Group, 2008). 133

2
Ibid. 119
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He states further that if we genuinely understand that we are the church in flesh, our

neighborhoods and workplaces become mission fields in which we share Christ in both words

and behavior.3 As I work with the youth in the church, I try to communicate the idea that the

church beyond being an organization of people that meet together is an organism that is living in

support of Christ and has the responsibility to communicate both Christ’s sacrifice and His live

for us. These concepts have impacted my ministry tremendously in the fact that I can give words

to the feeling that I have been trying to communicate. This has given me the confidence to share

both my own personal conviction for Christ and my conviction to enhance evangelism in the

local church body in which I minister. By demonstrating and teaching that we are called to live

our testimony and not just have it prepared to deliver when called upon.

Focusing on future converts to Christianity is a part of my ministry that I can see as

lacking. Through study and training I am working to change this fact. Through study of the

unchurched and the dynamic in our culture today, I plan to change my inadequacy in this area by

becoming the disciple that Jesus wants me to be. The first step in my own walk of discipleship is

to continue the spiritual development of being mentored by my pastor and other members of the

church staff. Through this mentoring I have been able to gain a better understanding of the

servant heart that is at the center of true disciple’s lives. This continued mentee status has

allowed me to pour myself in to a few others as their mentor, this is a new avenue for me to

undertake as I have willingly been the “student” fir most of my time of being Christian. I have

come to realize that only being the student does not fulfill the calling to go and make disciples

for Him and therefore I have undertaken the role of being a mentor to some of the young men of

the church. Through this relationship with those hungry to use the gifts that God has blessed

3
Ibid. 119
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them with I have discovered the joy of true discipleship. This translates into a firmer resolve to

help the new Christians that I encounter to discover the spiritual gifts that God gave them and

help them to find the place that He has for them in His church. Building relationships within and

without the church is another way that I will put some of my studies to use. Through

understanding that one of the most missed points of the unchurched coming into a real

relationship with Jesus Christ is the simple relationship that we as Christians need to cultivate

with all that we come in to contact with opened my eyes to some of my own misgivings

concerning the unchurched. I am guilty, as most of us are, of missing the point when it comes to

the relational aspect of our Savior. The overriding importance of God desiring that personal

relationship with all of His creation is the most important part of being a disciple to me. This is

simply because; the relationship that encompasses God’s love, God’s will, God’s plan and God’s

grace is what we are called to demonstrate through our devotion to Christ. This demonstration

speaks to the heart of being a disciple. Discipleship and evangelism go hand in hand as the

means to teach and spread the Gospel. Evangelism is as way of life to reach the lost with the

name of Christ and to spread the hope that is free to all. Discipleship is the extension of that

lifestyle in which we become devoted followers of Christ. This lifestyle extension is how the

church is able to grow, simply put making true disciples is the goal of evangelism and having

cultural evangelism is the goal of every disciple. Beyond the unchurched, discipleship can be

used to reach the lost of other religions and lead them to Christ as well. The story of A.S.A.

Jones in the Unexpected Journey is a prime example of the need for discipleship and evangelism

being tied together to strengthen the Christian world view, following is a portion of her story.

But once I abandoned the myth of God, I had no basis upon which to build my morality.

Without the concept of a higher authority, morality is admittedly relative… Humanity

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had become nothing more to me than molecules and enzymes; I viewed people as mere

organisms going through their daily routines… One day I had an argument with a

Christian, he told me that I was missing the entire point of Christianity by arguing every

single point.4

This is the story of an atheist woman that encountered several Christians in her life that were not

taught to make disciples. She therefore declared that all Christians were idiots and proceeded to

fight against Christianity until she encountered one Christian that spoke to her in an intelligent

manner and was using evangelism in the simple act of living on mission in his workplace. Here

is the conclusion to her story.

I made a resolution to read the Bible again, I had read it through many times before, but

as one would read a technical manual or a science book. It occurred to me that I was

perhaps missing the points that were being delivered through nuance and context – the

type of literary devices that are used in higher forms of literature. I started in Genesis and

began to read. This book began to read to me as I was reading it… I then got to the

question Christ asked: “Who do you say that I am?” After six months of reading

Scripture, that one question summed it all up for me… I saw it. I saw what the truth of

the Bible was! And I was humbled. The truth of the Bible was and is Jesus Christ!5

This story is just one example of the combination of living out both evangelism and discipleship

in a practical way in everyday life.

4
Thom S. Rainer. The Unexpected Journey, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005). 65-67

5
Thom S. Rainer. The Unexpected Journey, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005). 68
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A healthy church in my opinion is one that is growing in spiritual maturity, one that is

teaching its members to share Christ, one that is seeing converts to Christ from among the lost

and one that shares Christ in all that they do. All of these things will help a church to reach their

community and will see growth come as a second level focus rather than being the focus of

programs. A church should be focused on building Disciples of Christ that are equipped to share

their faith with the lost rather than being focused on putting people in the seats of a building. The

healthy church model of expecting disciples to live on mission and create more disciples is

answering the call of Christ to help populate the Kingdom and in the church today we should

focus on discipling to make a healthy church rather than relying on numbers and statistics to try

and prove to ourselves that we have a healthy population in our buildings. This shows through in

my current ministry in that I am teaching the youth in the church to study and use critical

thinking in their approach to what they can do for Christ, rather than just providing an

entertainment/babysitter service. This effects my future ministry in that I plan to use the idea of

biblical discipleship in all that I do, by keeping the focus of my ministry of developing true

followers of Christ that share and disciple others, I will keep the focus of my ministry on the

Great Commission. I personally see myself involved in the multiplication of disciples in the

simple act of surrender to the Holy Spirit and His leading. I say this as I have recently

undertaken the task of organizing small groups in my local church. This task is one that I have

had laid on my heart, not because I think in any way that I am special, but simply see a need in

the church body and am stepping up to fill it. I have met with the pastor and administrator about

organization and leadership and feel that through the process thus far the Spirit is remaining at

the center of my desire to serve. This, I see as fulfilling the call to multiplying disciples through

the act of intentional evangelism that can be afforded through the use of small group meetings to

invite the lost and not have them feel overwhelmed. SPLASH is one of the tools that I have kept
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at the forefront of my ministry activities for the simple fact that showing people love through the

acts of service and surrender in my life. Letting people see Him through me is a very humbling

experience and one that I pursue as second nature. Knowing that I am unworthy of the

redemption that I have experienced is always shown through this passage of scripture.

This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are

justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God

presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to

demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed

beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to

be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Romans 3:22-26 (NIV)

And I keep this in mind as I strive to “Show People Love And Share Him”.

I plan to deal with conflict the only way that I know how to, which is totally based on

scripture.

"If your brother sins against you go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.

If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or

two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or

three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to

listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever

you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

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"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be

done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name,

there am I with them." Matthew 18:15-20 (NIV)

This simple plan for conflict between two brothers in Christ can be applied to any number of

conflicts that are faced in the church today. Often in the church we like to foster grudges that

have no place within the body, due to our own wretched stubbornness. When dealing with the

kids in the youth group and some of the issues that they have conflict with one another over I

also like to use this passage of scripture.

"Do not judge or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will

be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to

the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out

of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take

the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from

your brother's eye. Matthew 7:1-5

And see that as I grow my ministry that this will apply to the church body at large. I see revival

as something needed in the church today and plan to seek the guidance of the Spirit for this as

well. I have had the occasion of a visiting Director of Missions telling the story of Richard

Blackabee giving a lecture for a Director of Missions meeting in which he told this story.

Richard was preaching at a church in Atlanta and received a call from another pastor in the area

asking him to come and speak at his evening service. This pastor talked of his personal prayer for

revival and renewal within the church for over twenty years and Richard accepted. After
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preaching at the evening service, Richard gave an alter call for people to lay themselves at the

throne and a large number responded. Before much could happen, the inviting pastor took the

podium and advised the congregation that the service needed to be wrapped up because they had

an ice cream social scheduled and the ladies of the church were waiting in the fellowship area of

the church. Richard advised that he was somewhat dumbstruck by this happening. In the pastors

haste to keep to a schedule he was missing the very revival that he stated he was praying for. It is

my prayer that I will not be the one that “misses it” when it is right in front of me.

Prayer is the foundation for my ministry and it will remain there in the future. I see prayer

as the first act of worship and it is truly the most important piece of communication we have with

our creator. I try to live by and teach the following passages in my life and ministry.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will

for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And

pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in

mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will

fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, Ephesians 6:17-19 (NIV)
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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Falwell, Jonathon. Innovative Church, (Thomas Road Baptist Church, Nashville, TN: B&H
Publishing Group, 2008).

Frizzel, Gregory R. Releasing the Revival Flood: A Churchwide Journey to Miraculous Unity
and God-Glorifying Fellowship, (Master Design Ministries, Union City, TN: The Master Design,
2005).

Hemphill, Ken, Paula. Splash: Show People Love And Share Him, (Tigerville, SC: Auxano
Press, 2007).

Rainer, Thom S. Surprising Insights From The Unchurched And Proven Ways To Reach Them,
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001).

Rainer, Thom S. The Unexpected Journey, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005).

Reid, Alvin L. Radically Unchurched: Who They Are And How To Reach Them, (Grand Rapids,
MI: Kregel Publications, 2002).
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Robinson, Darrel W. Total Church Life: How To Be A First Century Church, (Nashville, TN:
Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1997).

Stanley, Andy, Reggie Joiner and Lane Jones. 7 Practices of Effective Ministry, (North Point
Ministries, Inc., Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, Inc., 2004).