“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’”

Matthew 25:21

Lately, most of us are dealing with the harsh reality of shrinkage in our ministry teams. Simply put, we don’t have as many people rowing the boat known as church as we once did. We might remember a time in days gone by when not only did we have every ministry position filled with an enthusiastic and qualified person, we also had a deep bench to boot.

That was then. This is now.

With all the dynamics associated with COVID (fewer gatherings, decreased attendance, lower commitment levels, etc.), we’re a little skinnier than before. Ministry leaders like us have been forced to adapt to the fact of fewer resources to work with, human and otherwise. Learning how to flourish even while under-staffed is a new reality.

Obviously, this challenge isn’t unique to the church. Every arena and industry is dealing with it on some level. For example, have you tried buying a new vehicle lately? Or even worse, shedule a doctor’s appointment?

Just about everyone’s team is smaller now.

So what to do? As ministry leaders, how can we leverage resources and maximize our potential given that we have a bit less to work with than before? As stewards, how can we be found faithful with our reduced ministry assets, particularly of the human variety?

In a word, we must be faithful.

You’ve heard this principle repeatedly, but it’s time to hear it again…in your heart. At the end of the day, God is most interested in you and I being faithful with exactly what we have today, even if it doesn’t feel like much. Even if you’re embarrassed at how lean your ministry has become, it still has value that requires the care and attention of its steward.

Metaphorically speaking, for some of us it feels as if the Antagonist has slashed 3 out of 4 of our tires and we’re rolling on just one. If this happens to be the case for you, may I say that at least you have one? That which you have, are you appreciating it? Are you making the most of it? Praying for it?

We can be hopeful for a future day when we’re back up and running at full strength, fully staffed and humming along. In the meantime, may the Lord help us to be faithful with what we have.

It’s a new day with God. Run with it.