When Christ was about to begin his ministry, He first called out Peter and the rest of the disciples and told them that he would make them fishers of men.
Those were his first lines of contact with the world, and it was thereafter that he began to minister to the larger crowd, and many were attracted to Him by His good works, which were seen by all.
He led by example and lived a spartan lifestyle that did not diminish His person and His mission on earth, “leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.”
It can be said categorically that Jesus Christ, the son of God, needed men for His ministry to have the impact and success it had during his earthly ministry, and without those men, His ministry would have been limited in scope and would have gone into extinction.
Your first assignment as a leader is to ensure that you surround yourself with quality people who can look you in the eyes and tell you humbly the home truth concerning the way you’re making proof of your ministry.
Those who are confident to associate with you not because of what they will gain from you but for the fact that they not only love you but also appreciate the kind of direction your ministry is providing in their lives.
You should also be concerned that the people who are in your inner and outward circle are largely pleased with you, the organisation you represent, and your service to God.
Those who come under your ministry have a thousand and one other options of ministries to associate with; to this end, you should endeavour to minister to their needs both spiritually and physically where tenable.
No matter the quality of your ministry, if it does not touch the lives of the people put in your care, your ministry will be far off the mark.
You must also realise that people who come to you are there because they need something from you or through you that they don’t have. They need the assurance of faith, which only the undiluted word of God can provide through you.
Also, you must realise that those who come to you also have what you don’t have, or rather, what you need to make your ministry flourish and succeed. God planted them around you or in your ministry for a purpose that would benefit both you personally and the ministry in which you are the under shepherd.
What that also means is that both of you are value carriers and value exchange. This should give you the idea that both of you need each other and that the relationship should be mutually respectful and reciprocal.
How do you treat people who have value to add to your life?
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How do you relate to your ministry helper, whom God has sent on your way?
Your answer to these questions is important to unlocking your ascendancy to the place God has ordained for you.
Your congregation is your ‘customers and consumers’ of the product you’re selling, and you should understand that the more of your product they accept and benefits them, the more successful you will become in the line of your calling.
God will not do what he needs to do until man does what he needs to do. Also, you must note that man will not do what he needs to do until God directs him to do it.
At the end of the day, God and man are partners in the fulfillment of your ministries, so as you honour God, do not neglect to value the relationship He has brought your way for your personal benefits and that of mankind.
Your vision and mission should be people-focused, and you should ensure that until the people you are sent to are saved and come to know the truth, your mission has not been fulfilled.
Christ was people-centric while here on earth. He ministered to their needs, prayed for them, healed them, and taught them the word of life to ensure they had nourishment and did not lack where necessary. Jesus visited both the disciples at their homes and even the sinners, who were in prospect of salvation. He went out of his way to visit them at home and dine with them.
When Apostle Peter’s mother-in-law was ill, Jesus visited her home, prayed for her, and ministered to her in the same way he visited the home of the tax collector to share fellowship with him.
All these were done for the sake of the gospel and not for any personal aggrandizement. He understood his mission here on earth, that he was sent to the sinners to redeem them from their sins, and all through his early ministry, he ensured that he never neglected this particular, all-important assignment.
“I am the good shepherd, and I know [without any doubt] that those who are my own know me and have a deep, personal relationship with me.” John 10:14 a.m..
A leader who does not know his flock and build personal relationships with them will definitely not enjoy the cooperation and support of such a flock. Every minister must realise that they are called to serve the people, and within their service to the people lies their blessing and success.
And don’t be a man user, because there are many leaders who use and dump their followers; those are bad examples of what a leader should be.
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others.” Matthew 20:28. It was in fulfillment of this His saying that today, Jesus becomes the one who is being served by all nations and tribes. There is no way you will serve the people without the people serving you one way or another.
It’s my prayer that today’s leaders will realise the importance of serving the people under their watch, pray for them, care for them, and feed them with the word of life. In turn, the people will love and bless them.
