I wish you all could experience ministry in the city. It’s incredibly refreshing, raw, complex and challenging. I’m about 8 months in now and I could not be more thankful for my experience.
The biggest lesson learned so far is that I often lack genuine compassion and care for the people. Students, who are the very people I’m ministering to can feel like the biggest barriers to seeing minister growth! And then there are my my neighbors, my fellow public transportation users and especially people that are different than me. I’ve always struggled with compassion and the city has reminded me of need for it, because I’m confronted with humanity every day. God is softening my heart toward people.
There’s no getting away from people…and I like it that way. I love being confronted with the rawness of humanity. It challenges me. It reminds me of my brokenness without Christ. It teaches me to love and sacrifice in fresh ways.
What if the bottom-line about ministry is less about effectiveness and efficiency and more about people…broken, messy people? Yes we learn, strategize and get better at our jobs, but if we do it without genuine love and compassion we’ve missed the point.
I’m thankful for the city. Not everyone is called to live, work or minister in a city, but everyone should consider it. Guaranteed it’ll expand your view of God.
