The Power of Articulating Ministry Values

What are ministry values, and why should you write yours out? In September, we held a back-to-school event called “Superhero Night.” The first time we did this event, in 2007, it drew about 50 kids. The next time, in 2009, it grew to 80. But this time? A whopping 31.

My instinct when that happens is usually to assume that the event was poorly planned or poorly promoted, so as not to repeat the mistake again. But the more interesting question is: Why am I asking what went wrong? Because “what went wrong?” betrays an unstated expectation: that good ministry will bring a good turnout. And behind that expectation lies a more sinister belief: that good turnout=good ministry.

But does it? Of course we all know we’re supposed to say, “I don’t measure success by numbers,” but who doesn’t look at a packed house and automatically think, “Great event!” This is where ministry values come into play. Values are about defining what is good in ministry. Values reflect both processes and outcomes. In this case, adhering to values keeps me from being swept off my feet by a good turnout, and forces me to consider what actually happened among the kids who did show up.

When I began leading our church’s 4th, 5th, and 6th grade ministry, I knew there was a need to give it more definition than just “the ministry that works with preteens.” So I set out to get down on paper what I wanted the ministry to reflect, in its teaching, its structure, its methods, its outcomes – the whole ball of wax. I ended up with eight:

1. The centrality and necessity of God.
   God directs our ministry efforts. God saves and transforms. Kids must know God’s love and respond before they will submit to him.
2. Ministry to the whole child.
   Kids are multi-dimensional, and our ministry should reflect that. We aim to create safe environments that nurture a child’s physical, emotional, spiritual, cognitive and social well-being.
3. Same-age Christian relationships.
   We promote and encourage same-age Christian friendships to create a positive peer environment that will endure through high school and beyond.
4. Intergenerational relationships.
   Kids draw conclusions about God and life from what is reflected in the lives of older Christians. They need a circle of supportive older believers in addition to their parents who invest in them in an intentional way.
5. Age-appropriate methods and content.
   We recognize that each stage of childhood is different; therefore, our content and methods change with the changing child. We value curriculum and learning methods that meet each age group’s unique developmental level.
6. Inquiry and curiosity.
   Kids learn best when they wrestle with ideas, ask questions and assimilate new information into what they already know. Kids’ questions are not an indication of confusion or misunderstanding, but an eagerness to learn.
7. Granting kids autonomy.
   We believe the best way to equip kids to make good decisions is by letting them make actual decisions. We try not to do for kids what they can do for themselves.
8. Long-term perspective.
   Spiritual growth and formation is a life-long process. We train kids and parents to make the decisions that will change their lives.

Identifying these values really wasn’t hard. I simply thought about what I considered important in ministry, what we were already doing – for good and for bad – and where I wanted us to go. But it’s not enough simply to have values – the values need to be articulated. Once they’re written down and communicated to others and internalized, they become the guideposts by which you do ministry, and the standards for measuring success.

Every ministry has values, whether you’ve taken the time to identify them or not. Start by asking yourself, “What is important to me as I do ministry? What does good ministry look like? Bad ministry? What are my non-negotiables? At the end of the day, what are the tangible things I want this ministry to accomplish, and how do I want to go about accomplishing them?” Next, ask some trusted volunteers and parents who are familiar with your ministry to answer those questions from their perspective as observers. This will tell you whether you’re hitting the mark, or if there’s a wide gap between what you, the leader, profess to be important and what really gets practiced in your ministry.

The values you ultimately crystallize will likely lie somewhere between what is happening and what you’d like to have happen. The reason you want to take into account the observations of others is because your values, while perhaps idealistic, need to also be realistic. For instance, you might say you value giving the ministry away by equipping leaders. But if, in reality, you do the lion’s share of the work, that’s important to consider: maybe you don’t really value giving the ministry away. And if that’s the case, you won’t. Ministry values shouldn’t work against who you are: they are your values. Identifying them is first and foremost an act of clarifying for yourself what you, as a ministry leader, are all about.

That is why you must write the values down. It’s not enough to “have a sense” of them. If they change as you grow as a leader, by all means modify them. But actually listing them out has several benefits:

1. Values that have been defined and articulated help me maintain consistency across the ministry.
   If I truly value kids forming relationships with one another (Value #3), then that value should show up in nearly everything we do. In practice, this might mean that opportunities for structured and unstructured interaction among kids get built into every event and meeting.
2. Values give me fixed reference points for gauging “success”.
   I may be bothered than an underwhelming 31 kids turned out for Superhero Night, but that number really has nothing to do with the quality of the ministry that did happen among those who did come. Did the message that night reflect the idea that all of life belongs to God, and all power comes from God (Value #1), or was I just exhorting kids to live life under their own power? Did we care for each kid physically, emotionally, cognitively, and socially, as well as spiritually (Value #2)? Were leaders making intentional investments in kids (Value #4)?
3. Values are succinct expressions of your ministry philosophy.
   The average parent and ministry volunteer doesn’t have the time or interest to read your 10-page philosophy of ministry paper. But they can easily digest a list of five to ten values. Your initial training will be practical if you focus on the “now what?” aspects of that philosophy. Then in future trainings, you might peel the onion back a little further and share more of the thinking that lies behind the values.
4. Values help you set goals.
   Just as your values flow from your ministry philosophy, goals should flow from your values. If you value, as we do, autonomy and choices for kids (Value #7), you might set a goal of increasing the number ways you allow kids to make decisions and choices in your program.
5. Values allow you to guide others.
   In my experience, what volunteers most want to know is “What do you want me to do?” What is important, but tying tasks to values keeps ministry from being lifeless and mechanical. You can write a thousand rules telling people what not to do, or you can teach them to ask the question: does this line up with our values?

So was Superhero Night a “good event”? I think it’s better to ask, “Did Superhero Night uphold our values?” In some ways, it did: kids met each other (Value #3); the games we played had rules and relied on teamwork (Value #2); the message incorporated film clips, art, storytelling, and guided questioning (Value #5). In other ways, it fell short – one girl got hurt playing a game, and there weren’t very many opportunities for kids to make choices. With that knowledge, I can plan a better event, one where every kid who comes will encounter our values in action. In other words, they will experience good ministry.

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