5 Steps For Unleashing Your Ministry Creativity
Creativity is not limited to a select few. We convince ourselves of that. Sometime after the creative freedom of childhood we “grow up” and decide we are not creative. But our creator is creative, and we are made in that image.
So how do you tap into your creative potential and use it for ministry? Following the steps below is a good start.
Ask The Questions
Develop the habit of asking questions like “What are we doing?” “What outcomes are we pursuing?” “Why are we doing this?” and “Why are we doing this now?” Without consistent evaluation, your efforts, though once effective, could fall into obscurity. Questioning everything opens you up to God doing something new or re-invigorating your vision for what you are doing now.
Look Around The Community
Look at how the people in your community live. Look at what they experience in daily life. Ask yourself, “What do people in my community need? What is their pain? What delights them? How might we serve their needs?”
Don’t just look at research on the internet. Get out to the local coffee shop, the grocery store, eat at restaurants, drive during rush hour, visit the local hospital. Make it a point to get involved in the local schools and government. The more you weave yourself into the fabric of your community, the better you can see opportunities for prayer and ministry.
I am not talking about surveys and interviews here. You aren’t looking to increase your customer service score. You are looking at what barriers are keeping people from knowing or growing closer to Jesus. You are looking for the physical hurt that also causes spiritual pain. You are looking for deception and sin for the church to confront and the darkness by which the church can be a light. These are things you cannot determine in any other way than letting God walk you through your community.
Dream As A Team
As Christians, we work as a community. Anytime one of us tries to go it alone; we are setting ourselves up for failure at best, and unholy pride at worst.
Enlightened trial and error succeeds over the planning of the lone genius. IDEO
When setting out to meet the God-revealed needs of your community, surround yourself with fellow believers within that community. Spend time in prayer and observation. Talk about personal experiences. The more diverse the group, the better.
Once you have the group together, look at the needs and pains of your community. Ask the group “How might we…” to address not only the immediate needs of the community, but rather the needs that are coming.
Dream and pray together. Come up with some potential ministry solutions to the challenges of your community. Don’t hold back, don’t play the “devil’s advocate” or “just be realistic,” go for the God-sized solutions. Then as a group, decide on which solution to follow. Here is one way to do it.
Give It A (Small) Try
Once you have a solution you want to follow, pick one small way to implement it. It may be one way of teaching the Bible in one class for one session. It could be helping one family get settled into their new home. Try it, observe, and then make improvements. Do not roll out your solution on a larger scale until you have had an opportunity to work out the kinks. In design thinking, this is a process known as iteration. It allows you a space of trial and error before you scale your idea.
Few ideas work on the first try. Iteration is key to innovation. Sebastian Thrun
Tell The Story
Use the power of storytelling to share with others what God is doing through you. Share the challenges, how you God helped you overcome them, and your hope for the future. Storytelling is both inspiring and mentally portable. It will help your ideas spread to those who need to hear them.
When ideas are communicated effectively, people follow and change.
Nancy Duarte
Creativity is a chaotic a process. It is wild, but there is also an order to it. You hear artists talk about their process all the time. Look at creation and you will see how chaos and order create beauty in the world. Ask God how he can unleash your creativity in ministry.
Ministry Accelerator combines scriptural disciplines and creative methods to create a sustainable faith in Christ for everyone. Join us by emailing info@ministryaccelerator.org.
