Some of the finest members of our church are young people who grew up in our church, attended our Christian school, and are serving as laymen and women in our ministry. They are in the will of God, doing the work of God, and will have a great reward from God when they get to Heaven.

My family thinks I’m a neat freak. I think I’m just orderly. (Well, maybe it is a little over the top to look forward to a day off so I can clean out my closet.) But in all seriousness, whatever your personality type or personal level of clutter comfort, disorganization and excess clutter will waste your time and focus. And worse, it is the enemy of availability.

In the tenth chapter of the book of Second Kings, we find a fascinating story of how the Lord used Jehu to slay the descendants of, and those loyal to, wicked King Ahab. In the process, Jehu met a man named Jonadab—a man who shared a zeal for the Lord and the heart of Jehu for ridding the land of any residue of King Ahab’s wicked reign. Together, they slew many wicked men and were used of God to fulfill His purposes.

What are these “great and mighty things?” In Jeremiah’s day it was the miraculous prophecy that God would one day return Israel to Jerusalem in great glory. At the time they were being overtaken by the most powerful nation (Babylon), under the threat of the most powerful King (Nebuchadnezzar) on earth. for us, the great and mighty things are the blessings God wants to give us if we will simply yield ourselves to Him. Our Heavenly Father knows what is absolutely best for us. He wants to give His best to us. Some of it, we cannot even comprehend.

Perhaps you’ve heard the suggested praise/correction ratio of 10/1. And perhaps, like me, you’ve found it easy to forget to be regular on the praise side of the ratio. Last summer at our annual staff training, my friend, Ken McCoy, was reminding our staff leaders to regularly praise team members. He shared a simple idea with us that he used when his children were small.

March 7, 2012—it was the beginning highlight for what would become the delight of my year. That evening, I had the joy to begin leading a young Christian through our church’s formal discipleship program.

The soul of a man is worth enough to God that He was willing to give His most precious possession—His only begotten Son— in order to redeem that soul from Hell. The worth that God places upon a soul is undeniable and undebatable. But what about the worth of a soul to you and me? I mean, how much is it really worth to us in terms of time, effort, and money to see that a soul has had every chance to not only hear the Gospel, but come to Christ?

One of the major factors among growing churches is an aggressive one-on-one discipleship ministry. When planting a church, the most important thing a church planter can do is to disciple new converts.

What do you envision your sphere of leadership and ministry looking like twelve months from now? If you desire for it to be different in any way than it is now, you must plan for it.

Here are some thoughts on how we can articulate a plan for next year that will help us have the most fruitful year of ministry yet: