At our last Passionate Youth Pastors gathering we were joined by Micahn Carter, pastor and founder of Together Church in Yakima, Washington. In his afternoon session, he gave us twelve momentum killers, things that kill the momentum in our ministries.
All of us know the exhilaration of watching something run by itself, or the feeling of pure momentum bringing growth and multiplication to what we’re doing. But within that, there are habits and some times unnoticed tendencies we allow that can actually kill the momentum we experience.
Last week we brought you the first six (which can be found HERE. Here are the other six things that we as leaders need to be on the look for.
7. UNWILLING TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY
We’re all guilty of thinking the way we’ve always done something, is the way it works. While there is truth in the “if it’s not broken don’t fix it” method, there are seasons and shifts in our ministry that require us to think outside of the norm. It could be because we’ve plateaued in growth that we need to look at new opportunities to reach people, or it could be because it just doesn’t work. No matter what, we’ll lose momentum in our teams and mission if we just aren’t willing to change.
8. LETTING THE “NEW BIG” STAY BIG
Pastor Micahn made a great point about the “new big”. Every big event we have or new campus we launch, we have to bring our teams back to the understanding that there’s still more out there. As a youth pastor, I get caught up sometimes in celebrating a few hundred kids attending a service longer than I should. By all means, celebrate what the Lord does and never lose that gratitude and awe of what He’s done. But, when you line up one event next to one city, you realize there’s still hundreds of thousands of people right here in our city that don’t know Jesus. We’ve got to stay focused on the mission.
9. DISTRACTION
Distractions always play a part in our lives. Whether it’s the never-ending plethora of social media, or something as simple as watching television at the wrong time, distractions can easily hinder momentum. This also applies in terms of new opportunities. We can get distracted by what’s ahead that we forget about what we’re stewarding now.
Jesus said in Matthew 5, that our yes should be yes and our no should be no. In other words when we know what we’re called to, it’s easy to say no to anything that doesn’t match.
10. EGO
Ah the ego! Momentum is an attractive thing. Personally, there’s been times where I’ve gotten used to momentum that it built up more trust in my ability than in the Lord. Pastors and leaders should beware, as stated in point number 6, that we don’t feel we’re the source of momentum. The ego gets fed when we fall in love with what momentum does for us, and not for the people we’re trying to reach.
11. CHOOSING PREFERENCE OVER PURPOSE
Preference is defined as a great liking for one thing over another. It’s options. When we don’t like how something is run, we can easily leave and attach ourselves to something different. But when it comes to the call of God, your preference is not priority. We’ve only made it this far because of the purpose God has for our lives. And that purpose, by design, is often difficult. The moment we start looking for what’s easy and what doesn’t require much from us, we lose momentum.
12. CELEBRATING THE WRONG STUFF
This last one goes hard in every area of life. Celebration is so important in life and in ministry, but the direction of celebration can either attract us to our destiny or distract us from it. Momentum needs celebration, but again it needs to be in the right place. I personally don’t want to slow down to throw a party for something that can easily be a thank-you card. Keep it moving, and keep looking ahead!
We pray these twelve things have helped you as much as they’ve helped us. We love you, we’re praying for you, and we’ll see you next time at Passionate Pastors.
THE JOURNAL 