5 reasons to stay at your church

Leaders are wired for change. Leaders see a need or challenge and want to push the organization to a better future. This love of change sometimes leads us to look outside our current ministry role. Go ahead and admit it, you look at other ministry settings and wonder if it might be time for a move. What would it be like to serve there or with that team? Leaders love the thrill of the move and the enticement of possibility. This week I will have been here at Grace Community Church for five years. For the first time in my adult life I have lived in the same house for five years. I have been serving this city for five years and it is hard to understand but I am thrilled about the next five. Funny thing I am discovering is that time spend in a ministry setting leads to trust and trust (by parents, staff members, the church family, and community leaders) leads to opportunity. Time spent in ministry allows you to build something that is better not just bigger. Here are five reasons to consider blocking out distractions and stay in your ministry setting...

1. You get to serve multiple generations // There is nothing quite as cool as getting to watch a senior graduate and then see their 6th grade sister show up in your middle school environment. That is priceless. That is generational ministry. That is what being an influence partnered with the family looks like.
2. You can take bigger risks for the Kingdom // When you have relational credibility you have the influence to take bigger risks for the Kingdom of God. People follow leaders they trust will be there if things don't go well.
3. You can see your strategy through // How do you know if your strategy really is making a difference. Plant your life in a city and see what happens over the span of several years!
4. You can make changes and corrections faster // When you are committed to staying you will push your self you keep molding the organization. Invest leaders don't like stagnation. Time allows you to make changes and see them through.
5. You learn to strive for the bigger story and not just a perfect picture // When you stay locked in with a ministry or a church you learn to look for the bigger story for motivation. Time with people teaches you that there are no perfect families or churches. What really inspires is the bigger story that God is at work.