Ways We Stay Strong in Ministry: Part One

Our mission is to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ. As Life.Church team members, that mission is the driving force behind everything we do, and how we're able to make a difference. 

This incredible mission makes everything we do worth it, and our team is dedicated to staying strong in ministry through specific biblical practices. In this post, we're covering the first four practices we follow to stay ministry-ready at Life.Church: time in the Word, prayer, community, and rest. 

Time in the Word

Reading the Bible helps you know God and grow in intimacy with Him. When we build a daily habit of reading the Bible, our relationship with God deepens and our spiritual life grows stronger. 

Psalm 119:105 says that God's Word is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. When we make time to read His Word daily, He guides our steps. 

The word is a guide to your path. A voice to comfort you in your pain. Spiritual food to nourish you when you are weak. Sword to protect you against the enemy. Truth to convict you. Power to correct you. Wisdom to direct you. — Pastor Bobby Gruenewald, The Bible is Alive

When we work in ministry, spending time in the Word is important because it helps keep our focus on God and His plans for the work He's empowered us to do. 

But where do you start? Maybe you're wondering, "How should I study the Bible?" There are many ways to study Scripture, and no one way is perfect. What matters is finding what works for you to build your Bible-reading habit. 

Here are three ways we recommend to spend time in the Word.

• Pre-decide your time, place, and plan of your Bible habit. Start small, connect Bible reading to another habit, and find an accountability partner to follow up on your habit.
• Decide what to read. If you've never read through the Bible from start to finish, this Bible Plan is a great place to learn the overall story of Scripture. You can also pick a specific book of the Bible, a person in Scripture to study, or a specific topic you want to learn about. 
• Download the Bible App from YouVersion. We wholeheartedly believe a daily rhythm of seeking intimacy with God has the power to transform lives. That's why YouVersion creates biblically centered, culturally relevant experiences that encourage and challenge people to seek God throughout each day. 

One of the things I do to stay consistent in God’s Word is to schedule time with God on my calendar. I have a “meeting” with God every morning, and I always want to make sure I’m on time for it. Along with reading God’s Word, I use commentaries to help me really understand what I’m reading,  I listen to podcasts to hear a different perspective, and I talk to my husband and friends about what I’m reading to see what they think. Ministry isn’t sunshine and rainbows all the time! There are hard days. When we have those hard times, our knowledge of God’s character—through His Word—helps us stand firm in our faith and keep going, even when we want to give up.  — Dedra Lyon, YouVersion Content Partnership Manager

Prayer

Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus often withdrew to connect with God.

Whether you're driving, going on a walk, or spending time with the people in your life, take time to pause and talk to God throughout your day.

Knowing what to say to God doesn't always feel easy, because of our misconceptions about what a conversation with God looks like. Prayer is simply communicating with God — that's it. Scripture makes it clear that there's no right way to pray. It's not the words that matter to God as much as what's in our hearts.

2,000 years ago, Jesus taught His disciples how to pray:

Our Father in heaven,

may your name be kept holy.

May your Kingdom come soon.

May your will be done on earth,

as it is in heaven.

Give us today the food we need,

and forgive us our sins,

as we have forgiven those

who sin against us.

And don't let us yield to temptation,

but rescue us from the evil one.

Matthew 6:9–13 NLT

Today, this example is called The Lord's Prayer. It's a framework for how to talk to God. Prayer isn't simply asking God for all our desires to be met, but a dynamic conversation with Him. Prayer brings us closer to Him and helps us recenter our hearts on His will.

In the Bible App from YouVersion, Guided Prayer can help you build a prayer habit, leading you step by step through a prayer experience modeled after the Lord's Prayer. 

Prayer keeps me grounded in God’s love, hope, and mercy. Things changed for me when I realized a daily prayer practice was about creating space to be honest with God about how I was feeling — whether I was angry, excited, or sad. It’s about having a conversation with someone who knows and loves you more deeply than you could ever imagine.  — Charlotte Carmichael, YouVersion Marketing Specialist

Community & LifeGroups 

God designed us to live in community. It's important to have people around you who encourage you, support you, and point you toward Jesus. Being in a LifeGroup allows you to gather, share life experiences, build relationships, and pray with others.

Galatians 6:2 says that we should bear each other's burdens in love. Working in ministry has good times and hard times, and a LifeGroup helps you have a supportive community around you.

Every LifeGroup is unique. From discussing the weekend message or following along in the You've Heard It Said podcast, to completing Bible Plans together or serving the community, two things you'll find in every LifeGroup are relationships and conversations that help people grow in their faith.

No matter how you prefer to meet, there is a LifeGroup that provides the connection and community you need. 

I’m a part of a girls’ LifeGroup that has met weekly for the past five years. Through times of great joy and sorrow, our LifeGroup has weathered life’s storms together — through God’s word, relational equity, prayer, and celebration. God created us to depend on one another, and my LifeGroup is filled with dependable, safe, God-filled friends who truly sharpen me.  — Grace Swindell, Recruitment Project Leader

Rest & Sabbath

Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is rest. From the beginning, God modeled rest, and He invites us to make it part of our weekly rhythm.

Sabbath is the idea of intentionally setting aside a day to be with God and enjoy His presence. It's a way to remember that God loves us not because of what we do but because of who He is.

Practicing rest and the Sabbath can look different for everyone, because each person has a different approach. When starting out, set clear expectations for what you will or won't do. For some, the Sabbath may look like unplugging and spending intentional time with family and friends. For others, they enjoy getting outside and enjoying nature. The important thing is that in whatever activity you do, you intentionally engage with God's presence. 

In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." God is inviting us into His presence so that He can give us the rest we need. 

When was the last time you really rested in God's presence? If it's been a while, you might consider what it could look like. How could build more rest into your daily, weekly, and seasonal rhythms? How would your life change so that you can work from a place of rest instead of working for rest? 

If you’ve tried to rest before and felt unsuccessful, remember that we rarely get something right the first time. Consider it a lesson and try to make it better the second time.  — Pastor Craig Groeschel

The only way to grow your skill with something is to keep trying. Try different activities or ways of rest, practice the Sabbath with family or friends, or start a YouVersion Plan on rest. 

Of all the spiritual practices I’ve implemented, Sabbath was the one where I felt the most immediate impact. Once my family learned how to Sabbath and let go of the frantic need to be productive, it began to feel like a time of rest during an otherwise very crazy season. What started as a resistance to the busyness of life soon turned into an understanding of God and His sovereignty, which enriched our Sabbath practice and continues to shape the way we work and rest throughout the week.

Bonus Tip: Treat Sabbath like a mini-holiday with God and others. If you wouldn’t do a certain task on Christmas morning, maybe don’t do it on Sabbath. But if there’s an activity that does connect you deeply to God, consider making it a part of your practice.  — Blair Reynolds, Life.Church Graphic Designer

Consistency Matters

Through biblical practices like reading the Word, prayer, community, and rest, we're able to remain strong in our mission. It's important for us to set aside intentional time to recenter our hearts on Christ. Full-time ministry has its hard seasons, but by staying consistent in these biblical practices — and others — it's possible to not only avoid burnout, but stay strong in ministry. 

Next month, we'll discuss four more biblical practices that we follow: worship, tithes & offerings, serving, and accountability.