Personal Ministry Research Paper

Earley & Gutierrez (2010) “Ministry Is…How to Serve Jesus with Passion and Confidence” (Nashville: Broadman & Holman).

Ministry is more than just choosing a vocation for life; ministry calls the individual and beckons them to follow. At 53 years of age, I have taken a long journey to get to where I am today in ministry, yet I can say with all honesty, "I have not yet arrived." In describing the ingredients to a lasting ministry, Kevin Miller states, “A ‘call’ to ministry is not easily defined, but nothing could be more solid to most pastors. The call of God is

Pastor Renfro, as he is known by those who have had the pleasure to meet him, defines servant leadership as “one of the many models of ministry, each of which describes how a particular minister understands his/her role and approach to ministry as a vocation, and a way of life.” Dr. John Renfro is currently senior chaplain at Conway Medical Center in Conway, South Carolina. He grew up in simple, rural South Carolina in Spartanburg County, and he benefitted from a family who had a personal deep connection with God. His simplistic beginning provides the anchor of stability in a turbulent world for his family and those whom he offers ministry. Pastor Renfro has felt that “ministry grows out of life, the life of an

This philosopy of ministry is simply my personal way of doing things . In my view, every christian should believe the same primary, fundamental doctrines, however, not all churches and ministries should have the same style, or the same philosophy of ministry. Just as there is variety in the body, so the world needs all different styles of pastors, leaders and teachers. No one style will reach everybody with the gospel of Jesus. As you read the Bible you'll see that while God does tell a church what to believe and think, he never tells the church exactly how to operate. The church is free to creatively operate within biblical teachings and principles.

These systems historically have been fragmented and inadequate—causing program ineffectiveness and personal stress among pastors. The degree to which the African American pastors are effective is crucial to the health of the church. Pastors with strong support systems based upon sound theology, spiritual disciplines, management training, insurance systems, and outplacement services, have a better chance of producing strong effective ministries, as compared to unhealthy leaders producing unhealthy, ineffective leadership. Not only can ineffective leadership cause by certain types of stress and stressors produce poor ministries, but it can also produce unhealthy people living unhealthy doctrines. These issues have a spiritual effect on the pastors. These choices may lead to stress and, ultimately,

I never thought to be a Christian leader. As a matter of fact, I am a person who did not know about God for 26 years. I was the center of my life, and there was no room for God to enter. Even when I was attending church service, I was trying not to be exposed to other church people. In other words, I was the kind of person who was afraid to walk into a life of faith. However, in the past three years, God has changed me in many ways, and showed me so many miraculous things. And, finally here I am. Being a Christian leader seems the most challenging job in the world. I am working as the chairman of a youth ministry, and walking on the path to be a church leader. When God called me to work for the

There are many challenges to ministry in today’s world and having a vital and relevant ministry is even harder. Churches across all denominations face drastic declines in both attendees and financial giving. With this as the background, it is imperative that vital ministries seek out opportunities to grow and engage groups and communities that have previously been overlooked, missed or not involved for other reasons including some theological reasons. With this idea and goal in mind, this essay sets out to examine and design a process by which the Churches of Cherokee, Oklahoma can successfully connect with and minster to the new Hispanic community in Cherokee. Using the pastoral cycle method, a process will be designed in this essay to

Paul D. Tripp authored a work that promotes the world of biblical counseling that is not bound to a professional clinical model but incorporates the daily ministry lifestyle founded on the Scriptures. Tripp emphasizes the gospel of Jesus Christ as the hope for those who have lost hope. The moment when sin entered the world through Adam’s fall brought forth guilt, fear, and shame became the standard. In a few pages, Tripp wrote the story of the Fall and the implications of sin towards the human race. The disconnect between God and mankind became prevalent; He sent His only son to save the world and provide a gift that would keep those faithful to Him: hope. Jesus Christ, the Son of God has set the paradigm of which His followers must imitate because He has masterfully counseled those who were suffering and sick. As Christ reflected this model in several ways, Tripp also elaborates on the importance of actively empathizing while being involved in the midst of the person’s suffering. Personal ministry is a challenging field of work that will require sacrifice and delving into people’s mess just as Jesus loved his church, Paul’s ministry and discipleship to the churches of his time, and more that can be found in the Bible. There is also an emphasis on the integrity of the spiritual life of the counselor being kept accountable at all times; the heart issue of man has to be cautioned against and examined deeply because from it all

evangelical churches have had the largest growth. There are a number of reasons for the growth of evangelical churches in the last two decades of the twentieth century. First, Catholics were often targets of government repression for their "subversive" involvement in base Christian communities, while evangelicals were safe from government repression. Second, the evangelical emphasis on personal conversion is considered apolitical. Finally, small evangelical churches provide their members with a strong sense of community and family. During my whole life, my family and religion are the only ones that have helped me the most. My family have always encourage me in all types of situations and also religious because only God could guide me when I

After a car accident three years ago, God used the recovery period to hone my old skills and birth new. Over the course of the process, He repositioned me for a different journey. The new path led to a transition from a secular K-12 setting to Christian higher education; yet, still within the context of supporting a diverse student population. My purpose became preparing and teaching ministerial leadership in a

The Art of Personal Evangelism: Sharing Jesus in a changing culture By Will McRaney, Jr. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Academic, 2003, 268 pp., $19.99 paper.

Over the years, many models have been developed and implemented to endeavor to make disciples. Some of the models have been effective and others have not. Among some of the most biblical and efficient models are the ones that involve small groups. Within the small groups models, they can be broken down into further detail, such as pastoral involvement, the church’s goal, missions mindedness, etc. In this paper, I will explain my philosophy of small groups in a church and the importance of the relational group in authentic disciple making. I will also explain how missional groups can help the body of Christ move out into the community. Finally, I will summarize my status in regards to living in community with other believers and being missional with that community.

This course has had a great impact on my walk with Christ as well as my witness for Christ. I pastor a church and teach two classes and for me I thought that I was doing plenty. However this course has helped rekindle my passion for sharing Jesus Christ with people through personal evangelism. This paper will demonstrate what I have learned throughout this course.

As I gazed around the church I was able to see love and an abundance of warmth generating from the elder parents to the young within the chapel. The service although I was unable to understand it, promoted an overwhelming feeling of acceptance and respect from those around me as we engaged in the reading of the scriptures, songs being sung and the blessings being given to all those asking. The parishioners beamed with an elation of learning the word of Christ, and did not make me feel as if I were an outcast; those seated around me apologized for their children, and guided me to receive the message from the priest. The emotional response I have for the people of the church was an elated since of hospitality and acceptance, which I thought would not be give; a preconceived idea. From the moment I arrived I was able to feel as if I belonged in the church family, the feelings of inadequacy faded. I found that being engaged within this experience has challenged me as an individual to become more open to those I am the most uncomfortable, have little knowledge, or preconceived images of, in other words judge from the inside not from the outside, take a leap and learn whole heartedly about those I know nothing about. The challenges I faced where to put aside whatever misconceptions and prejudices I have from my personal beliefs, values and experiences and be

This paper is the final results of my internship ministry practicum II experiences reflection in my church organization work settings and training. My experiences from different areas of exposure sharpened my skills for my professional role of the Doctor of Ministry Program in the theological field of counseling and teaching. My ministry practicum consists of direct involvements with hands-on, real-life interactions under the supervision of my Supervisor, Chaplain Andrea Fletcher. This Comprehensive Written Review analyzes the full spectrum of my observation and participation in tasks from my Ministry Learning Agreement Form. The opportunity allowed me to view other leaders in ministry exercising their gift and in turns