This document provides 7 tips for ministry: 1) Be careful of flatterers and critics. 2) Preach Christ rather than sin to produce Christians. 3) Uplift Christ to the world. 4) Focus on true conversion rather than just doctrines. 5) Invest in youth. 6) Only preach with a call, not for reputation. 7) Take margins for self-care and invest in mentoring relationships.

1. Eyes Wide Open
Seven Ministry Tips
2 Kings 6:16
“Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” 17
Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!” The LORD opened the young man’s
eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and
chariots of fire.
1. Be extra careful with the following people:
Person who talks to you first.
Person who never has anything bad to say about you.
Person who never has anything good to say about you.
2. Preaching focused on sin, produces sinners. Preachingfocused on Christ, produces
Christians.
The first word, from the first sermon from Jesus was…BLESSED!
"Of all professed Christians, Seventh-day Adventists should be foremost in uplifting CHRIST
before the world.“ Ellen G. White, Gospel Workers, p.156
"There need to be far more lessons in the ministry of the Word of true conversion than of the
arguments of the doctrines. For it is far easier and more natural for the heart that is not under
the control of the Spirit of Christ to choose doctrinal subjects rather than the practical.There
are many Christ-less discourses given no more acceptable to God than was the offering of Cain.
They are not in harmony with God."{VSS - The Voice in Speech and Song pg 342.3}
3. Remember the people in the hyphen. (YOUTH)
2nd Generation young people are many times “exiles in their own country. Choice is between a
church from their country of origin where they don’t understand the language and an anglo
church where they feel outnumbered and out of place” Samuel Rodriguez
4. Preaching without a call, is wasting your time.
Be less concerned about your reputation if nobody responds, than the people in church that
day that need to make a decision.
What has helped me:
1. Preaching with points.

2. 2. Preaching expositive sermons.
3. Preaching in series.
5. Mind the margins.
Take time for the Word, family, hobbies. Spend time with people other than your church family.
Margin-less ministry is dangerous. The greatest damage to ministry from a margin-less life, is
heart shrinkage. You start resenting/avoiding/dismissing the people you are supposed to be
helping.
6. Invest in relationships that grow you.
You need three people
*A mentor you can learn from.
*A friend you can lean on.
*A student that can learn from you.
7. If you don’t want to be attacked, ask God not to bless you.
Haters don’t set agendas. Don’t waste time defending yourself. Your friends don’t care and
neither do your enemies. Just remember that if God is for you, those who are against you, are
wasting their time.