“Wait, XYZ Ministry is having a meeting on Sunday nights too? Ah…Jim and Stacie will probably go there. And just when I thought we were starting to grow, too!”
Maybe you’ve actually said something like this before; I don’t think I have, but I’ve definitely felt the temptation to compete with other ministries. To fight over the same physical space, the same students, the same time slot. It’s easy to inappropriately compare ourselves to one another, and that can easily happen in ministry too. When we compare small groups, college ministries, and even local churches, there’s a temptation to compete. There is no temptations except such as are common to man, so in some shape or form I imagine we’ve all felt this temptation, and I’d like to share two thoughts that help me resist it.
First, a somewhat pragmatic reason: there are more fish in the sea than we’re ever going to catch in the near future. If someone else is catching some fish, be happy for them and go out and catch some yourself too; we don’t need to fight over the same fish when there are a thousand other fish a stone’s throw away!
“Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'” Matthew 9:37-38
Jesus didn’t say there were lots of laborers and a small harvest so get ready to duke it out! The exact opposite is true. Just run the numbers for a moment. There are seven billion people on the planet! According to various estimates, there are a couple billion Christians, but I think we understand the difference between cultural Christianity and having a relationship with Jesus…and the number of people walking in relationship with Jesus is far fewer. Simply put, there are many billions of people out there who need to see and hear the love of Jesus.
A couple of years ago, my local church launched a second site a few miles away from our original location. Before launching, my pastor chatted with other pastors near the new location. One of them responded in an amazingly encouraging way: rather than feeling competitive or even neutral, he was enthusiastic that we’d be joining in reaching his community which is very unreached (only 3-5% churched). What a great perspective! He saw all the fish that still needed to be caught and welcomed fellow fishermen.
So, next time the temptation to compete presents itself, remind yourself that there is a lot of work to do and more than enough for all of us!
Second, a more transcendent reason: your church is not yours, your ministry is not yours, your small group is not yours, you are not yours; it all belongs to the Lord. Put simply: stop building your kingdom and start building His. And when this is happening, we won’t compete with others who are helping us build the Kingdom of God!
“I will build My church.” Matthew 16:18
Jesus has a mission, and He’s invited us to participate. But sometimes we lose sight and begin building our own thing. When this happens, we need to come to the Lord, repent, and ask for His help to humbly be a part of His work. You see, we’re all on the same team, the Jesus team! And the temptation to compete attempts to put us on separate teams.
Small groups, ministries, and even local churches sometimes come and go, but Jesus is building His church. And that’s what I want to be a part of. I’m on His team.
When we have this perspective, another church moving into town or another campus ministry holding an event the same night as us won’t throw us for a loop. It’s about His Church being built, not ours. And God doesn’t necessarily call us to have the biggest and shiniest ministry ever but to be obedient and allow Him to build His Church through us as He desires.
So, next time Satan whispers in your ear to tempt you to compete with other ministries, I want to encourage you to remember:
- There is more than enough work to go around; welcome other laborers.
- Jesus is building His church. Let’s not build our own thing, but let’s build with Him and one another.