Whom Do You Lean On?

After almost 10 years in youth ministry, I have come to the conclusion that a good portion of success in ministry is derived from having a great team. In my opinion, no ministry can be successful if the leader is trying to operate alone. Having been blessed to have worked with some of the greatest volunteers any ministry could ever hope for, I have found that without those sacrificial workers there would be no success.

How do you find such great workers who will buy into your program and vision? The answer is tons of fasting and prayer, but I also like to take a lesson from the Bible when developing a ministry team.

    Building a Team

Moses gives us the perfect example oh whom we should be surrounding ourselves with when building a team. The story comes from Exodus 17. Moses has sent Joshua to battle against Amalek. While the men of Israel are fighting in the valley, Moses takes his position on a hill to watch. The interesting thing about this story is whom Moses decides to take with him up on that hill. He chooses Aaron and Hur as his support team. The fighting continues. As long as Moses holds his arms up, symbolizing Israel’s total dependence of God, the men of Israel prevail. As soon as he grows weary and drops his arms, the men begin to lose the battle. As a result, Moses must now lean on the men he brought with him. While Moses sits on a rock, Aaron stands on one side and Hur on the other, holding his arms up throughout the remainder of the battle.

    Like-minded Team

To understand why this is important for us today, we must understand who Aaron and Hur represent. Aaron was obviously the brother of Moses as the Bible states. Aaron, having been with Moses since the beginning of his quest to bring the people out of Egypt, continues in his position of support to Moses. Hur was considered to be the brother-in-law of Moses, as well as a member of the tribe of Judah. So, we find that Moses has surrounded himself with family who are like-minded in ministry and also understand the power of God. This is the perfect picture of a church ministry team – people within the family of God who are like-minded in vision and purpose and who understand the importance of worshiping and relying on God.

When I grow tired and weary of the pressure and stress of ministry, it is encouraging to know that I am surrounded by people who care about what we are doing and who understand the importance of getting into the presence of God.

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