Seven lessons I have learned in ministry this year at Serving Bread

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Prayer works. This year, I saw first-hand the power of [tag]prayer[/tag]. God answered specific prayers that I recorded in my prayer journal, which include our desire for 100 names of people who are interested in our ministry at the beginning of the year, my staff partner’s funding, and the growth of our community to 25 students (We have 25 students who regularly attend our structures).
People want to be trusted with more. Students want to direct various aspects of our direction and ministry. They want more than what we may offer. The reason we are blessed by Jesus’ statement that when we are faithful with a little, we’ll be faithful with much is because it’s true. We want more from Jesus. We want more responsibility.
Partnership is necessary. Perhaps some churches or ministries can be self-sufficient with no need of assistance from others. But for my ministry and context, partnership is necessary. Financial partnership or encouragements from others, or intercession and general prayers, or even volunteers bless our community and ministry. We might be able to do it alone, but it is much better when we invite others into a partnership to reach the campus.
Help build friendships. It’s not alone to build friendship with [tag]students[/tag], but we are also helping students build friendship with one another. Since we are building and developing a solid witnessing community, students liking each other as friends is a good step toward community development. In friendships, students can influence one another (hopefully, mostly toward good) and to paint a picture of a fun and intimate community for those who seek such a thing.
Pay attention to my soul. I am grateful for the prayer retreats, spiritual formation days, and spiritual direction days that I have received this past year. Not only do I need to have a daily rhythm with God, but I also need a seasonal rhythm that leads me toward intimacy with God.
Give to those who want it. I learned this particularly through the gospel of Mark. Those who draw and want more from Jesus get a lot more from [tag]Jesus[/tag] than those who stand at a distance. What if I modeled my leadership after this particular model of ministry? During the past four months, I began to think of ways to give more to those who want more. It’s not that I don’t love the rest, but I want to offer the best that I have to those who want the most. Whether it be my leadership, my time, or my mentoring, I will be careful to only give to those want them.
Love my family. My family and my home are nearly transparent to our students. They see where we live and how we live. They see how I relate to my wife and my daughter (and my housemate). They see our generosity or the lack thereof. They see everything. When Layla is walking around disturbing our “Men’s breakfast”, I wonder how I am going to influence these men toward Kingdom leadership when I am paying so much of my time caring for Layla. And then it hit me, as I love my family, I will also love them.