Just ask the Wright brothers. Their efforts were not easy by any means. They began with measly ideas of tying a rope to a 150 foot pole, running a glider off a sand hill, and crashing their crafts time and time again. Even more troubling, when they finally did fly on a cold December day in 1903, they were airborne for a mere 59 seconds. They spent three years of work for a mere 59 seconds! Except for a few less successful attempts, everything else that day happened on the ground.
In many ways, ministry is like flying.
About nine months ago (or what felt like 59 seconds), Riverside began a unique college ministry for the students of Ball State and Taylor Universities. Under the name of Alive365, a group of energetic young people began a ministry from the ground up-much like building a plane-by forming a band, arranging special events and outings, and organizing a program and a message relevant to the current college generation.
On one hand, Alive365 exceeded expectations, as over 100 different students were affected by this ministry, as well as how the program continued to improve throughout the semester. But, at the same time, Alive365 fell well short of its goals. There was a hope of drastically increasing attendance and becoming one of the "soaring" college ministries in the Muncie area. There was hope of rising above all human practicality, allowing God to lift us to new heights, enabling us to reach hundreds of Ball State students this year. But we never flew quite as high as desired, and even at times, we completely faltered.
In many ways, ministry is like falling.
Now that funding has been cut for this ministry, before giving up entirely, it would be important to remember again words of Wilbur Wright, for before the Wright Brothers ever flew their historical flight at Kitty Hawk, NC, they contemplated resignation. As Wilbur explains, "We doubted that we would ever resume our experiments...when we looked at the time and money which we had expended, and considered the progress made and the distance yet to go, we considered our experiments a failure." To think that such historical figures were so close to giving up! For the sake of travel, aeronautics, and invention, thank goodness they never did!
In many ways, ministry is like rising.
What made the Wright brothers successful can make a ministry successful. They never viewed their failures as failures. In fact, looking back upon their attempts, they realised that each attempt led to the next. As Wilbur again wrote, "Although the hours and hours of practice...finally dwindled down to about two minutes, we were very much pleased with the general results of the trip, for setting out as we did, with almost revolutionary theories on many points, and an entirely untried form of machine...[our attempts were successful]."
In the same way, it is important to keep any attempt into perspective - whether it be an attempt at flying or an attempt at starting a brand new ministry. In my perspective, the Alive365 ministry puttered along at times, but considering it was "an entirely untried form of machine," it would be completely wrong to view this ministry as a failure. This in mind, when a ministry like this is cut from a church, the important things to keep in mind are: (1) ministry is not about numbers or acclaim, since even Jesus spent most of his time with a group of 12 disciples, and much of his energy was spent responding to critics; (2) ministry is not about reaching the heavens, since at times, the plane will never leave the ground-as seen in Jesus' beating and crucifixion; and (3) ministry is not about immediate results, since some ministries face immediate rejection-as in cases of martyrdom.
So how should a Church respond when it feels like giving up? No matter how we might reason or feel, Christ's message for the Church remains exactly the same, as it has since the beginning: "I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die." (Rev. 3:1b-2a) When His children feel like quitting or cutting back, Christ tells the Church not to die, but to wake up and live! Christ challenges the Church to strive even further in its efforts-no matter how great the difficulty might seem.
I cannot help but think that the Wright brothers knew this message well. Before ever flying, the Wright brothers originally exclaimed, "Not within a thousand years would man ever fly!" But as faithful Christian believers, the Wright brothers never gave up. They woke up, strengthened what remained... and eventually, they became the first men to ever fly...
And my prayer is that we too will hear that voice-that voice that spoke to the church in Sardis and the voice that spoke to the Wright Brothers - "Ascend, ascend, and never stop flying. You only fail, you only falter, you only die, when you stop trying..." Since after all, when an accomplishment or a ministry seems impossible, when it seems like it might take a thousand years, that is exactly when God intervenes... when history is made and the skies are broken...
Amen and amen.
Joel Jupp
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