Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Ministry On-ramps

On-ramps on the highway provide a safe way to merge into traffic and get up to speed and get on your journey to where you want to go. When you get on the on-ramp you accelerate and gain speed as you get closer to the entrance to the highway. As you get near the highway and are about to merge you have a decision to make. You look in your side or rear view mirror and if someone is coming in the slow lane you either have to go even faster and get on ahead of them, slow down and tuck in behind them, or if there is gridlock on the highway you have to stop and just get on when some kind soul lets you on.

On-ramps are also useful when it comes to beginning new ministries. We might look at new ministries with an "on-ramp" perspective. What I mean is that when it comes to beginning a new ministry in the church it is not necessary and maybe even harmful to start really big and put all your eggs in one basket. Instead it makes more sense to take the on-ramp approach where you start slow and small and then you gain speed and then make an evaluation. Is the ministry worthy of further acceleration, do you just need to slow down a bit and pull back some, or do you just need to stop altogether? During this season of ministry on-ramps you can see what gets momentum without risking it all. During this season of ministry on-ramps you can see who emerges as leadership and whether you have adequate leadership.

Use the ministry on-ramp it may just prevent an accident and get further you on your journey.

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