Paper Work

We can get so caught up in "doing" dance ministry that we have not taken the time to make sure that we have stayed the course. Having ministry guidelines will ensure that balance and order remain. If we are more excited about taking work orders (ministry engagements) than how to deliver the work with purpose and excellence (ministry assignments), then we are laboring in vain.

The ministry vision and mission must come directly from God. After receiving a mandate from the Lord, what we have heard must be written as a reminder of God's promises and instructions. This is not the dance ministry "how-to" book, this is the "who/what/why" directive for long-lasting, powerful, God-directed ministry. The "who" focus (the Lord, you, or your ministry) should always keep Christ at the center of its foundation as the reason we live, move and have our being. The "what" are the reasons why the ministry exists and outlines what it is specifically called to do. The "why" may include the motive (heart) behind the ministry, and what the goal is to accomplish.

Isaiah gives us a wonderful example of this in Isaiah 61:1-3

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, (WHO)
Because the LORD has anointed Me (WHO)
To preach good tidings to the poor; (WHAT)
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, (WHAT)
To proclaim liberty to the captives, (WHAT)
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; (WHAT)
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, (WHAT)
And the day of vengeance of our God; (WHAT)
To comfort all who mourn, (WHAT)
To console those who mourn in Zion, (WHAT)
To give them beauty for ashes, (WHY)
The oil of joy for mourning, (WHY)
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; (WHY)
That they may be called trees of righteousness, (WHY)
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.” (WHY)

If our direction is clear, it will be difficult to stray from His path if we keep His divine "roadmap" in front of us. This can be reviewed often in rehearsals, written on ministry calenders, published online, or even written on simple pieces of paper. Whatever methods we choose to keep our spiritual focus intact, let us always remember to place the Lord above all else.

Psalm 102:18 (NKJV)
This will be written for the generation to come, that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.

Habakkuk 2:2 (NKJV)
Then the LORD answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.

1 John 5:13 (NKJV)
These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

Revelation 1:19 (NKJV)
Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.