Creativity Gift

The Minister

Heart’s Cry Statement

Let me protect God’s people from harm.

Highlights

A shepherding person that values protecting people
Avoids risks if at all possible
Leads small groups and individuals well
Functions well only in small organizational structures
Modest and humble individuals
Values heritage and tradition

Who God Made You to Be

Ministers are what the name implies…pastoral people who invest their lives into the life and welfare of others. They have a self-sacrificing nature that enables them to place the needs of others before their own. They are deeply committed to their family, viewing themselves as the protector of the home. Ministers want to guard, guide and protect the people they care about. They are highly loyal in their relational commitments. Ministers are not showy individuals. They are usually happy with a modest home, a used car and department store clothing.

Ministers are likely to be soft-spoken, warm and humble people who prefer one-on-one relationships. They can have a firm and cool demeanor when viewed from a distance. This expression is not because they are as they appear. They simply take their role to care for others seriously. They are serious but not aloof. They view themselves as paternal (or maternal, as the case may be) when in close relationships with others. In keeping with their sense of protectionism, Ministers are respectful of authority and those that possess significant titles. Ministers are NOT risk takers. They fear that taking a risk might mean that someone could get hurt. They are detail-oriented and accurately handle facts and information. In fact, they may pride themselves on their ability to memorize and recall facts, information, and illustrations from the past and use them to apply to the immediate context.

What You Can Contribute To the Ministry

Ministers are valuable ministry support assets. They serve well as pastoral care or visitation pastors, and make excellent one-on-one mentors for facilitating an individual’s spiritual formation. They also make excellent small group leaders, serving well as counselors and leaders within restoration and recovery ministries.

How Leadership Can Support You

When a Minister is placed in a position of leadership, the growth of the organization may be stunted and not realize its full potential because of his/her protection goals. This is true for two primary reasons:

The Minister cannot personally care for the welfare of every individual within a larger organization. This desire to care for everyone may cause the Minister to subconsciously limit the growth of the organization to a size that is manageable.
The Minister will not likely take the risks required to grow an organization through its various stages of development. The Minister thinks in terms of one-on-one relationships instead of organization or systems.

This does not mean that an organization should seek to replace the Minister with someone better suited for organizational growth. However, it may mean that the Minister may not be best suited to “run” the organization. Furthermore, to develop an organization for maximum impact, the Minister needs to value and trust the leaders that excel in the abilities the Minister does not possess. Just because a Minister may not be able to serve everyone within the organization (and they may be burdened with a sense of this responsibility) does not mean that people will not be cared for within the ministry. There are other adequate systems and people available to accomplish this task.

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