Trust, design, mission, and a killer

Lots of ministry team meetings I've been to involve a good deal of consternation about how to get more people involved.

Frustration about not enough pulpit support and people not knowing about what we are doing are usually way up on the unwritten agenda.

There is much angst about people not seeming to care.

It is very rare that we talk about who our top volunteers are. When are their birthdays and anniversaries and when should we send them flowers to commemorate the endless hours they put in on the play production or the mission trip?

What about conversations about the design of our ministry: How does this thing actually work? Are there new considerations we should think and talk about that might serve the needs of our volunteers?

What if we spent more time in discovery of the passions and desires of our volunteers?

Do you understand why I am involved with this ministry? Can I trust you enough say that I go to Costa Rica because I love the slow pace of life, the food, and because the church people we work with are so earnest about their faith? Can we have a cup of coffee and talk about why (really, really why) you are so crazy about handing out school supplies without ever mentioning what we need to do to get other people more interested in it?

Maybe if we did that, more people would become interested in it.

Trust is understanding.

Design is how it works.

Mission is why you do it.

Frustration, unless it motivates us toward trust, design, and mission will kill.