How to Lead People Effectively

The true proof of our desire for God is in our pursuit of Him. As Christians, we must remember that our lives will not be judged based on how many people we reach, but rather if we do what He told us to do. Here are a few reminders to those who find themselves in ministry.

4 Main Keys

1. God is After Those Who Are After Him

Those of us called to a ministry of any sort must always remember that pursuing God prepares us for what God is planning to do through us. When we look at the life of David, we see that he was not chosen randomly. It wasn’t chance or luck. He was after God.

Being after God is the secret to seeing God’s activity in our life. In the Bible, all the leaders He encountered often missed the point. But those who followed Him, like the fishermen, found their true calling.

2. Power is Needed to Meet the Demands of Service

God’s diagnosis of Saul in 1 Samuel 16:13-14 was that he was in a position without the power required to do it. As human beings, we have a limited amount of power, and as we serve, we get depleted. Often, this is not because the task is large but rather because our strength is low.

We see that whatever ministry we may be in, it usually has these four challenges:

• Pressure from our position
• Pain from relationships
• Pushback from the enemy
• Problems from within ourselves

Putting these four things together, we have a recipe for a disaster. I find it interesting that when we look at men and women God used, we see He gave them power.

And now I know why–because the demands of ministry cannot be met without God’s power. God does not lower the pressure, the pain, and the pushback. Instead, He matches His power to help us meet the challenge. That’s why without a relationship with the Holy Spirit we will not be able to handle the burden of ministry.

3. Slow Success Grows Character, Quick Success Grows Ego

When we look at David’s life, we see that he gets anointed at 15 and becomes a king over one tribe at 30. That’s 15 years of persecution for one tribe. At 37, he finally becomes the king of all the tribes of Israel. That’s about 22 years after God gave him a promise.

This is what I’ve learned about the Lord:

Don’t be disappointed when God anoints you, but men do not appoint you. God anoints David, and his father sends him back to the sheep. Was he still anointed even though people didn’t believe in Him? Yes.

Never be frustrated with people in this process. It’s God who wants to develop humility in us. It’s not about us; it’s not about our title; it’s about Him.

4. Those Who Lack Purpose Will Distract Themselves With Pleasure

On day I was at the mountain seeking the Lord when He led me to a verse that convicted me–Acts 13:22.

“When He had removed him, He raised up for them David.”

Notice that the Bible doesn’t say God raised a nation to give to David. The Bible says that God raised David to give him to a nation. This means people don’t belong to you; you belong to them. God raised him up for them.

God raised you up for a purpose. Not because of anything you did. The moment we see our exaltation, our promotion, or our breakthrough as a result of something we did, we will never be willing to sacrifice it. When we look at the story of Esther we see that Mordecai tells her to give up her promotion for the sake of your purpose (Esther 4:1-17).

You were not raised up because you’re cute. You were raised up because there’s a cause. There is a purpose for you and me to serve. As ministers, our measure of success in life should not be “How many people am I reaching?” It should be, “Am I pleasing to Jesus right now?”

Final Thoughts

I want to encourage you to find your strength once more in the Lord. Rely on the power of God to help you through the pressures of ministry. Choose joy in the midst of serving. Yes, it has challenging moments, but God is always good.

Remember, it is a privilege to give our life to the Lord serving our generation.

Read: Ministry While Married