Ministerial Competencies Essay

My training enables me to be of service to humanity and to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ as is required. Theological education has focused on not only in equipping me through training, to gain knowledge of the Bible through the relation of beliefs, practices and even stories that are brought forth by the scripture but has also taught me how to persevere and have total devotion to the Bible as the Word of God as the primary guideline of how God is and what He stands for. This should be a good example of how professionals in the Christian Ministry should emulate to live and lead lives that also act as examples to others. A major challenge has been with Issues of character, integrity and even godliness that are hardly shown by some professionals in the Christian ministry, in line with the teachings and in accordance to the training given during the theological trainings.

It’s challenging to practically fuse what is learnt and when doing ministerial work, the ability to understand the scriptures and communicate the beliefs and practices and managerial responsibility of organising ministerial activities to the people that result in spiritual growth, the teaching of Christian principles. Communication is very important in the ministry as it ensures the smooth running of operations. Communication in the Christian ministry is divided into two: communication with God and communication with the people. Communication is vital for the unity of people and passing of information with the intention to achieve a specific goal. Those in the professional Christian ministry should have efficient communication skills both orally and even in written forms. I am aware that the ministry tends to have a number of roles that mainly involve interaction with different groups and people at different times.

Throughout my training I have been able to learn that communication with God is also pretty important when making decisions and before communicating concerning any issues. Consulting God first then the people, this point cannot be emphasized any further, as it is vital for the unity of God’s people and the unity of the congregation. It should appeal both to compassion and also good communication skills as it is efficient not only in passing information but also preaching the word of God. Ability to offer servant leadership of the congregation/mission initiative for ministry development and good relationship development. Also involves change management, conflict resolution and emphasising team working skills. I hope I will able to bring up a ministry that is pretty serious and involved in a number of mission activities.

I also hope that through those skills I will be able to act a mediator and peacemaker when it comes to dealing with conflict. I fully understand the need to be neutral and lead in trying to settle the issues that are presented fairly and soundly. Communication is a key pillar when it comes to dealing with many people. Sometimes conflict arises due to poor communication or even sometimes no information is passed when changes are made. Taking part in these pastoral care activities not only needs compassion but I also need to seek proper guidance and knowledge from God. I need to humbly seek the guidance of God in most matters. The challenge with this is that, Pride usually gets in the way sometimes when one chooses not hear what God is truly saying about a certain matter.

I have had instances where I made decisions thinking I sought God’s guidance but in the real sense I only chose to go with what I felt was right or the most suitable. I have since learnt that for proper guidance from God, I need to have an open heart, be able to confide in him about all my worries. Since the mission needs adequate support and involvement by all members, I will use my acquired skills to promote teamwork. This also comes with having the ability to motivate others and train them to actively volunteer and participate in church activities. I need to adequately communicate the vision of a ministry and work on it in accordance with the church ministry.

I am self-driven when it comes to ministry and I am able to take up functions in the church without being assigned to do them necessarily. Those in professional Christian ministry need to know their roles of leading the church missions. Through what I have learnt I know that Domestic violence may take a number of forms namely: isolation that may entail one being restricted from seeing or associating with family members or even friends, they may not able to take part in activities such as participation in the choir or bible studies. It may take the form of blaming the victim through insinuating that the violence was as a result of their actions or even denying it happened altogether. I know that I will have a huge role to play as I may be the go-to person when some of the family problems occur.

I may act as confidant for some victims who may come to me and need help or simply advise from them. I understand that as a leader l will represent the moral authority in the society and I need to have adequate skills when it comes to dealing with these situations. The importance of developing lasting relationships in this case, with advocates of such initiatives through partnerships and funding of shelters would also apply. Ability to exercise ministry in a multi-cultural and multi-faith environment and to understand ministry in an ecumenical context. Most congregations exist in an environment of cultural diversity and an organisation may choose to be mono-cultural or simply embrace multi-culturalism. I would love to work in a Christian community that chooses to accept the diversity in culture and ethnicity also embraces the concept of interaction of both the dominant and minority cultures may bring about adjustments.

In an environment of cultural diversity, there exists and need to maintain identity by ethnic minorities. After possessing a thorough analysis and understanding of my audience, an assessment is required to ensure the mission of the organisation is being achieved or needs to change to accommodate more people. As a professional in the Christian ministry, through my skills of being persuasive, convincing in my argument and patient, they will all aid in this cause since changes do not occur overnight. Most of the time when members of a mono-cultural congregation feel like decisions and changes are being imposed on them they tend to resist and this causes harm and disunity and it is therefore trivial to go about this with deep conviction, patience and adequate support.