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:

Several years ago I was in downtown Iloilo City. After doing what I needed to do, I got in a taxi. The driver asked where I wanted to go and I told him to go to Iloilo Baptist Church in Jaro. Most taxi drivers know our place, so I did not think much about it and began to work on some paperwork. After about 20 minutes, the taxi stopped. I had not been paying attention to where he was going, because of my work. Then I looked up, there I was inside the compound of the largest Roman Catholic Church in our region of the country, the Jaro Cathedral.

As Christians, our focus should not be on the many negatives that this broken world offers (and there are plenty if that is what you are looking for). The psalmist aptly states, “And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee” (Psalms 39:7). This Christmas let’s reflect on where our hope should be placed.

The story is told of a struggling community who called an open town meeting to discuss their financial straits. Included in the group of a couple dozen people at the meeting was a stranger. No one knew him, and no one paid him any attention. In fact, once when he tried to speak up, he was interrupted as the townspeople continued to hash out possible solutions. Soon the stranger left.

This sermon outline is downloadable at the bottom of the post. Title: God’s Christmas Tree