Are you ready to set some goals for your ministry in 2023? In this episode, Sandra Peoples will talk about the purpose behind our goals and share four ideas for goals you might want to plan for! And stick around until the end for a pep talk about success and failure in ministry.
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Quick Links:
Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
Transcript:
ep 33 : Resolutions to Serve Special Needs Families
Friends! Happy 2023! We are so thankful you are starting your year with us. If you listened to episode 32, you heard Beth, Catherine, and Steve celebrate the 20 year anniversary of Key Ministry. I learned a lot from that episode, so if you missed it during the busyness of holidays, take time to catch up! It was fun to celebrate what God has done through Key in the past. Now, in this episode, I want to focus on the future. What will 2023 look like for you and your ministry? There are lots of goals and resolutions we can set, but I think the first step is to think about the goal of our goals. We're going to do that in this episode, and then I'll share four ideas to help you reach what I think is the ultimate goal of all our ministries. Let's jump in.
First, let's talk through what the goal is for setting goals. We can get very deep and ask what our purpose is for all areas of life. Rick Warren wrote in his very popular book Purpose Driven Life, “You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.” And the Westminster Catechism states: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” This mission is for every day of your life, no matter what season or situation you are in. It doesn’t even stop with your death. Forever means for eternity. When you complete your ministry on earth, you continue this mission in heaven. Jesus tells us how we glorify God in Matthew 22:37-39: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
You glorify God by doing what He calls you to do: loving Him and loving others. So here's how I think about the goal of all my goals: and the end of the year, how will I love him more and show others his love? How will I have known Him better and found hope and comfort in his love for me, and how have I encouraged others to know and experience His love? That motivation, or the goal of the goals, influences the personal and ministry goals I set. At the end of 2023, because of my ministry through my church, how will people know and love God more deeply than they do today? And how is God calling me to encourage and facilitate that growth?
This may be when you want to pause and really pray through that. Before I share my ideas, ask God for wisdom. This isn't a guessing game. Eph. 2:10 says "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." I'm not creating a new path—I'm following the one God prepared beforehand. I'm just taking the next step. Ask God to use the ideas I'm going to share and your own time of reflection and goal setting as ways to show you the path.
Now let's talk through some ideas.
1. Respite - Ginny Mooney from 99 Balloons said something about respite that I think will resonate with you at much as it did with me. She said on Sunday mornings we fit kids with disabilities into a mold that isn't created for them (even as hard as we try to make it all fit). But on respite nights, the environment and activities are designed for them! Our church offers 4 respite events a year. They don't have to be huge—you can start by just offering them to families in your church. But they do have a big impact on the whole family!
2. Outreach - Ministry is about caring for the families God has already brought to our churches, but it's also about reaching new families. It's about discipleship and evangelism. This year may be a great time to get into the community and reach families who haven't walked through your doors before. They need to know you care about them before they start showing up. At Key Ministry, we have multiple posts about outreach ideas, I'll link to them in the shownotes at keyministry.org/thepodcast. But let me quickly mention one of my favorites: a sensory friendly movie. We have a locally-owned theater in town that has let us do sensory friendly movies on Saturday mornings when they aren't open to the public yet. We advertise through social media and the school district, and it's always a big hit.
3. Inclusive VBS - January isn't too early to start planning VBS! For many churches, it's the biggest event they do for children, especially children from the community. I'll put a link in the shownotes with an article I wrote about steps to take to better serve kids with disabilities at VBS. If you start planning now, it will make it even smoother when the time comes! You'll want to be sure to add a question to your registration form asking if the child they are signing up has any allergies, medical conditions, special needs, learning disabilities, behavioral diagnosis. Grouping them together helps parents give you information they might otherwise not want to put on a form.
4. Create family care plans - I know we're all optimistic when a new year begins, but reality is, some of our families will experience emergency situations or even kinda normal for them but still serious situations. And they will need help from their church family. A Family Care Plan is A family care plan is an info sheet kept by the staff to help know the family who needs care and organize how to meet their needs. You can customize it to fit what your church offers. I'll link to more info on it in the shownotes too! Lots of links today!
And a bonus #5: Come to DATC - You will be hearing a lot about our upcoming conference! Why? Because The people you meet, the sessions you attend, and the ministries you'll be connected with will change your ministry. I've attended for years, and every single time I've put into practice things I learned there. Start planning now to join us in April!
Let me wrap this up with some encouragement. I know you're busy. I know it feels hard to add one more thing to all you do, especially something new. There's a Bible verse I focus on this time of year when I'm thinking about my goals. It's Eph. 2:10 "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." The phrases I want to focus on are "prepared beforehand" and "walk in them." God has gone before us into 2023 and beyond, and He has laid out the steps we will take. We don't have to worry about success or failure. We just walk in them. Our call is to faithfulness, not success. God doesn't judge success the same way we do, which is why our call is to faithfulness. At the end of the year I will ask myself Was I faithful to what God called me to do? To living out my purpose in the opportunities He gave me?
I hope this episode helps you think of one goal you can set for this year that will help yourself and others grow in Christlikeness! Are you already a member of our SNAD group on Facebook? If not, join today by clicking on the link in the shownotes or by searching for Special Needs and Disabilities Ministry Leaders Forum. On Friday, Jan. 6th, I'll put up a post asking for goals people have set this year, and we can encourage each other and maybe get new ideas!
Thanks for listening friends, and know we are praying for you in 2023!
