Serving God by Working Smarter and Harder in Ministry for Lasting Fruit

Summary

This article reflects on the importance of preparation, perseverance, and working smarter in ministry. Through website growth, social media outreach, and global partnerships, the author highlights how intentional effort increases effectiveness. From local beginnings to international impact, the message emphasizes gratitude for God’s work and challenges believers to maximize their efforts to bear lasting spiritual fruit.

I returned to live in my childhood home in 1995. A closet in the kitchen contains a pencil sharpener. I turned that handle to sharpen pencils for my homework 65 years ago. Times and faces have changed. Pimples have given way to wrinkles, but preparation is still needed to carry out assignments.

The Value of Preparation in Life and Ministry

Serving God is no different. Preparing for ministry increases our effectiveness. The Holy Spirit’s power is essential, but working smarter and harder usually produces more fruit.

Reflecting on God’s Faithfulness

This morning, I walked out of the sanctuary at the end of the worship service. I shook my head, deeply grateful, reflecting on the fruit of ministry I have recently experienced through God’s grace. A woman watching me thought I was talking to myself. Maybe I was.

Growth Through Learning and Persistence

Two years ago, my website, which offers free Christian evangelism, discipleship, and leadership resources (https://www.christiangrowthresources.com), in its fifth year, received about 100 clicks a month. To say that I didn’t know much about setting up websites is an understatement. Since then, I have spent hundreds of hours reengineering it to jump more effectively through Google’s hoops. It has been a long, slow, trial-and-error process.

Expanding Reach Through Digital Platforms

My daughter, who has studied Information Technology, has helped me considerably. Earlier this week, I received a message from Google that I had reached 1,520 clicks in the previous 28 days. That might not be world-class results, but 15 times as many people go to my website as two years ago, despite AI’s effect of fewer website clicks.

Serving God Through Social Media

About six weeks ago, I began promoting a blog, “How Can I Find Peace within Myself?” on Instagram. I have promoted various blogs on Meta for years. I am amazed at the messages I have received from the Instagram promotion.

The number of engagements on Instagram has been three times as high as on Meta. The number of people sharing the post was ten times higher than on Meta. And there was a whole new dynamic I didn’t experience on Meta.

Global Impact and Kingdom Collaboration

I doubt that I encountered six people in thirty-seven years of pastoral ministry in the USA who asked me how to be saved. Last week, I received messages from more than 150 people in Nigeria, the Philippines, Malawi, Zambia, India, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo asking how to be saved.

I send each a summary of the gospel that I call “Two Things to Know and Two Things to Do.” This was a trial-and-error win that took seven and a half years to attain. Continuing to promote the blog on Instagram is working smarter.

For four years plus, pastors in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Tanzania have used my free book, “His Power for Your Weakness:260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength,” to evangelize and disciple. We have provided 14,325 Bibles in Chichewa for many of the 19,919 students in their classes who didn’t own one.

Recently, we have partnered with International Bible Givers to provide Bibles for these students. Chuck Hayes, who is the head of this organization, arranged for a Japanese organization to print easier-to-understand Chichewa Bibles for these students at less than half the cost per Bible we pay the organization we have dealt with since the beginning of the ministry in 2022. Teamwork with IBG enables us to work smarter, evangelize and disciple far more students, and be better stewards of the gifts we receive to purchase Bibles.

All of this is why I was shaking my head, deeply grateful, in the sanctuary after the worship service concluded this morning. I challenge you to work smarter and harder in whatever ministry God has assigned so you can bear much fruit that will last (John 15:16).

Photo: Image Creator (microsoft.com)