What are your driving gauges for ministry? Driving gauges are not what drives you in ministry. Rather, they are those practices and applications you have in place that you can look at any time along your journey, that tell you whether or not you are making progress on your intended journey. The right driving gauges will ensure your effective progress in fulfilling The Great Commission.
As you drive along in your car, on any journey, you have certain “gauges” that assist you along the journey. Driving gauges tell you something about where you are right now, not 15 minutes ago or 30 minutes in the future. A glance at your speedometer will tell you if you need to speed up or slow down. Your fuel gauge identifies how much fuel is in the vehicle right now. If your check engine light comes on, you’ve got a decision to make, stop and have it checked or keep going, praying against anything catastrophic.
Your driving gauges are not restricted to the 4 inch by 12 inch part of your dash. Your mirrors are driving gauges as well. They will tell you what you have come through and who/what is behind you. They also identify if you need to speed up, slow down or change lanes perhaps for an emergency vehicle.
One other driving gauge, the largest, is your windshield. It is designed to assist you in identifying what is right in front of you. Not fifteen miles down the road, but right now. Your windshield helps identify curves, potholes, hazards, other vehicles, among other things vital to your eventual arrival at your destination.
Driving gauges in your ministry are vital to your progress and effectiveness of fulfilling your goals and God’s directive, The Great Commission. Driving gauges are practices and applications that you – or anyone on the journey with you can look at any time along the journey and assist you in making decisions on any course corrections along the way.
This is what makes them vital for your ministry. It is also missing and overlooked in most ministries. Many churches operate without driving gauges. Take for instance Vacation Bible School. For many churches a successful VBS means no one went to the hospital this year.
Can you imagine taking a journey in your car with eyes closed or reading a book instead of watching the road and your driving gauges? Until we have automatically driven cars that will not end well.
If you have goals for the year, what driving gauges do you have in place that you and your team are looking at, at least weekly, to insure you are moving in the right direction fulfilling your goals and The Great Commission? Don’t flounder, flourish!
