Manage the Resources that Anchor Your Ministry

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been looking at our anchors … the things that keep us safe and secure during the rough seas that can hit as we pursue our God-dream of online ministry.  Knowing how we will anchor ourselves is important before get down to planning a new path for the new year.

We’ve gone to God’s word to find our ministry anchor verse, we’ve looked at our joy anchors that fill us with hope when we are discouraged, and we identified the anchor people who cheer us on while keeping us grounded.

But in order to move forward, we need a clear view of what we have to work with.  Our resources can be the kind of anchor that holds us back and keeps us from doing the things we want to do.  Or they can be the kind of anchor that forces us to make wise choices and not get too far from center.

None of us have unlimited resources, and I suspect if we did, we would be totally overwhelmed by all the possibilities.  In fact, I believe God actually uses our limited resources to protect us and keep us dependent on Him.

When we have adequate time, money and knowledge, our resources are balanced and we are well-positioned for growth and effectiveness. I call this the Resource Triangle.  If we are lacking in one or two, our triangle will be off-balance and it will be more difficult to achieve our goals.  That’s when we need to learn how to use what we have to fill the gaps of what we are lacking.

Do you ever compare yourself to someone else and think you don’t know as much as them? Don’t have as much money as them?  Don’t have the spare time they do?  Hey, we all feel like that from time to time.  And it might actually be TRUE!

But don’t let that stop you from running hard after the dream God has planted in you.  He doesn’t need you to have any special skills or abilities.  He will use your ordinary to do something extra0rdinary.  He only asks for your willing heart so He can use what you have to make up for what you lack.

God asks for your willing heart so He can use what you have to make up for what you lack.

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As you prepare for the next phase of growth in your ministry, take a careful assessment of your resources.  Here are some tips to make the most of what you have and how you can fill the gaps where you are lacking.

Time

Time has a way of just leaking by.  I sit down to write or work on a project and before I know it, I’ve spent over an hour and have maybe one sentence to show for it.  How does that happen?  Usually, it is because I didn’t have a good plan for what I was going to do when I sat down.

Often, we fail to plan our time because, well, planning takes time, and if our time is limited, we want to spend it doing instead of planning.

When we carefully plan our time, we are more invested and more motivated to do what we planned to do.  I find that planning works in layers.

• Spend a full day laying out the structure and important goals and events for the year.
• Spend an hour developing your plan for the month.
• Spend 30 minutes looking at the important things you need to do each week.
• Spend the first 10 minutes of each work session making a micro to-do list of what needs to be done in that session.

Those 10 minutes listing the steps of my work session are some of the most valuable minutes I spend. Seeing that list next to the computer as I work helps me fend off the distractions and mind-wandering thoughts that limit my productivity.

Knowledge

The world of online ministry moves fast and there is always something new to learn, another course to take, another influencer to look up to and see what they are doing.

But we really have to ask ourselves, “Do I really need to know it all?”  Making the best use of our knowledge resources sometimes means we have to stop adding to the pile and maximize what we already have. Some of the things that look so fun and so cool and the thing everyone else is doing may not be useful for us at all.

Some things I’ve found helpful in managing my knowledge resources are:

• Finish what I start – I have purchased several courses that I have only done the first couple of lessons on.  I’m committing right now not to purchase another course until I have wrung every last bit of info out of the courses I have.
• Learn from a friend – When I come across something I really need to learn, I try first to find a friend who is really good at it.  I ask for her two or three best tips and the resources she has found most helpful.  That is usually enough to get me started and often all I really need to know.  And those conversations bouncing ideas and information off each other go far in building relationships … you never know what opportunities are going to come up when you reach out!
• Be choosy – I always want to learn from the best, but at the same time, I want to learn from people who are teaching from a faith-based world view and from experience in online Christian ministry.  So much of what is taught today is based more on making money than building relationships and influence.  Having a clear picture of not only WHAT I need to learn but WHY I want to learn it helps me identify people who have the same WHY that I do.  It’s not always possible to find what I need taught by a Christian, but  I try really hard and avoid anyone who is obviously contrary to my faith and values.

Money

Money makes the world go ’round, right?  Not always.  Rather than bemoaning the fact that money doesn’t grow on trees, being the best steward of what I have is more productive.

As I am writing this, it is the day after Thanksgiving and there are so many amazing deals out there for tools and resources that would really help me grow my blog and business … things that I do intend to purchase at some point.  But I’m reminding myself that now is not the time.  What good does three free months of a service do if I know I won’t have time for at least a month to even look at it?

No … it is much better to maximize the tools I’m using now, even if it means a few hacks to sorta do what I really could do better with a whizbang new resource.  When I have gotten to the end of what I can do with what I have, THEN I will look at investing in something new.

One thing I’ve learned is that if something is on sale today, it will be on sale again in the future, or come with a different bundle or be reduced before it is upgraded.  So I can be confident that I am only passing up the deal of the moment, not the deal of a lifetime.

Resources are precious.  Whether it is our time, money or knowledge, doing ministry well will cost us something valuable. So let’s make it worth that cost.  Giving God control of all our resources, so that we are completely dependent on Him, ensures that our resources will be used wisely and all our gaps will be filled.

Which resources do you struggle with most?

Linking up with Dawn Klinge at #GraceandTruth, with Susan B. Mead at #DanceWithJesus, with Arabah Joy at Grace & Truth