People today often ask themselves whether what they are doing is meaningful and worthwhile. I think this is an important question, especially for people who serve as volunteers or unpaid ministry workers.
For example, I recently met a young man whom I had taught in Sunday school about thirty years ago. At that time, I was an associate pastor at a church in Toronto, Canada, and he was one of the Sunday school children. Now he is about 43 years old and works as a graphic designer. One day, he left a message for me on Facebook, and eventually we met downtown in Seoul.
As we talked about his work as a graphic designer, we agreed that he could use his skills to design some banners for the walls of Melvin University. Then I began to think: Is this meaningful and worthwhile? I believe it is. It is also a kind of ministry—using our talents to do something good for other people and for the kingdom of God.
I believe volunteers and unpaid ministry workers need something beyond simply being asked to “serve.” They need to know that their service is meaningful, worthwhile, and significant. People naturally want to contribute something of themselves. They want to know that their lives and their abilities are making a difference.
Abraham Maslow, the American psychologist, proposed his famous hierarchy of needs in his 1943 paper, A Theory of Human Motivation. His theory described human needs in stages, beginning with basic physical needs and moving toward psychological and personal growth. Self-esteem is one of those important needs, while self-actualization represents the realization of one’s potential. Later, Maslow also discussed self-transcendence. In this sense, people want not only to be valued themselves but also to become what they are capable of becoming and to contribute something meaningful beyond themselves.
I once read a book called Success to Significance, which followed the idea of Halftime. These ideas also made me think about the difference between simply achieving success and using our lives to make a meaningful contribution. This is especially important in lay ministry. People may not receive a salary for their ministry, but they can receive something else: the joy of knowing that their lives are making a difference.
Helping Through Questions
We often hear that the right questions are sometimes better than the wrong answers. This is especially true in counseling and pastoral care. Questions are important because they make people think.
When people discover an answer for themselves, they often become more confident than when someone simply gives them an answer. If we give answers too quickly, we may unintentionally prevent people from thinking deeply about their own situation.
This principle is very important in P.A.C.E. ministry. When lay pastors meet with their flock families, they should learn to begin meaningful dialogue by asking appropriate questions.
Our natural tendency is to give answers. We want to help, so we quickly tell people what we think they should do. But sometimes our quick answers can disturb their own process of thinking. We may leave them with no room to discover their own answers.
The same principle applies when we supervise lay pastors.
Instead of always telling a lay pastor exactly what to do, we can ask questions:
What happened when you visited your flock family?
What did you notice?
How did the person respond?
What do you think he or she really needed?
What could you do differently next time?
How might you approach this situation in your own way?
Then we allow the lay pastor to think, discover, and develop.
P.A.C.E. is the same basic ministry for everyone, but the way each person practices P.A.C.E. can be different. Every lay pastor has a different personality, experience, and way of relating to people. Therefore, we should not expect everyone to P.A.C.E. in exactly the same way.
The goal is to help each lay pastor discover his or her own style of caring ministry.
As they continue serving, they should continually ask themselves, How can I do this better than before? How can I serve this person more effectively? What can I learn from this experience?
Gradually, they become more confident and more capable. In this sense, they become professionals in their own ministry.
Professionalism does not come simply from receiving training. It develops through practice, reflection, questions, experience, and continual improvement.
For this reason, I believe lay pastors should develop the habit of writing reflective journals about their P.A.C.E. ministry. Writing forces us to think about what happened and what we learned from it. It can also stimulate creativity.
Goethe, the great German writer, was known for his habit of writing down ideas that came to him. His creativity was developed through the habit of recording his thoughts. In the same way, lay pastors can discover new ideas for their ministry by writing down their experiences and reflections.
Stages of Commitment
I think there are several stages of commitment that are important for longevity in ministry.
The First Stage: Conviction
First, there needs to be something special—a particular incident, a strong experience, or a deep feeling inside us that moves us to act.
For me, there was a very strong feeling in my mind when I first entered this ministry. I felt strongly that I should do it. It was almost like making a promise to myself and to God.
I think this is the first stage of commitment: “I will do this.”
Something inside us gives us the motivation to begin.
The Second Stage: Meaning
The second stage is asking, “Is this meaningful to my life?”
We begin to see that our work is good work. We are helping people. We see small results. We see people becoming happier, receiving help, and experiencing joy through the ministry.
These small results give us a sense of accomplishment.
If there is no sense of meaning, it is difficult to continue for a long time. But when we realize, “This is worthwhile. This is helping people. This is something I want to give my life to,” our commitment becomes stronger.
Therefore, the second stage is meaning.
The Third Stage: Growth
The third stage is different from the first two.
Eventually, difficulties come. We face roadblocks, disappointments, difficult people, unexpected situations, and problems that we did not anticipate.
At this stage, we begin to learn about people, about ministry, and about ourselves. We wrestle with real problems in the real field of ministry.
But if we continue instead of giving up, something important happens: we begin to grow.
We discover that ministry is not only something we do for other people. Ministry is also something God uses to change us.
We become more patient. We become wiser. We understand people better. We learn from our mistakes. We discover new ways of serving.
So the three stages of commitment might be summarized this way:
Conviction says, “I will do it.”
Meaning says, “It is worthwhile.”
Growth says, “I am becoming a better person through it.”
This may be one of the secrets of longevity in ministry. We begin because of conviction, continue because we find meaning, and persevere because we discover that we are growing.
In the end, meaningful ministry is not simply about what we accomplish. It is also about who we become while we are serving others.