4 Areas to Measure Ministerial Success

Written by Roger Willmore

Success is not determined by the size or location of your ministry. Success is determined by your faithfulness to God. In a day when the Church is hearing much about executive style leadership and “corporate world” standards for success, we could be in danger of losing touch with what the Bible says about success in Christian ministry.

The Power of the Call

I believe there are four areas in every minister’s life that determine the level of success he can achieve.

1. Know Your Culture
This includes his local community, his state, his country, and the world. If there is going to be any measure of success in ministry, the contemporary pastor must be in touch with the changing trends of the culture in which he lives.
In a day when political correctness is required in every facet of public life, tolerance is society’s watch-word, absolute truth has been replaced with situation ethics, and Christianity is no longer fashionable, the time is ripe for a clear, powerful, and unapologetic presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But before this can be done effectively, the pastor must understand trends of the times.

2. Understand God’s Call on Your Life
Consider the divine nature and the sacredness of God’s call upon a person’s life. Henry Blackaby and Henry Brandt address this in The Power of the Call:

“One does not choose the ministry! A pastor is chosen. He is chosen by God for God’s purposes, in God’s time and place, and serves Him in God’s ways. God has chosen to change others and our world through pastors who are called by God, who answer this call, and who obey God consistently. No one else in society has a greater or higher calling; no one else can see the difference made in the lives of individuals, homes, and workplaces. The pastor and the people of God are God’s chosen, great gift of love to a broken and hurting world.” (p. 26-27.)

3. Grow in Godly Character
In our quest for success it seems that essential issues of character have been abandoned and we have turned our attention to human skills and ability. The church is suffering from a lack of prayerfulness, purity, and devotion to God on the part of those who are called to be its ministers. Character matters in ministry, and there is no true success in ministry apart from a godly character.

Success in ministry involves a divine power with God and with men. Godly character is the conduit through which life changing power flows from God to His servant and from His servant to others. A pure heart and the power of God go hand in hand.

4. Seek Regular Communion with God
Someone has said that failure in a Christian’s life can be traced back to a breakdown in his personal quiet time, private communion, and fellowship with God. If this statement is true of the Christian life in general, it is especially true for the minister.

It is possible for someone to receive the applause of men and, at the same time, be a disappointment to God. True success is not measured by visible, outward results. The root of true success is found in the unseen, private regions of the heart.

Be faithful to Him wherever you are. Guard against the temptation to seek a place, or a position, or a name, or even success itself. Seek God with all your heart, be faithful to Him, serve Him faithfully in your present place of ministry, and you will sense the smile of God upon you - that is success!

Roger D. Willmore has served as a pastor for more than 30 years and serves as "Minister at Large" for Olford Ministries International in Memphis Tenn. Dr. Willmore has written numerous articles for Growing Churches, Proclaim, Church Administration magazines, and numerous online articles and sermons for LifeWay.com. He currently serves as the Senior Pastor at Deerfoot Baptist Church in Trussville, Ala.

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