A perhaps more than slightly cynical friend once said to me, 'the problem with the church is that everyone's been trained and everyone's still useless!'

Of course he's exaggerating (there must be at least one of us who's not entirely useless!), but the experience is not unfamiliar - we go to more and more training courses, buy more and more resources, get better and better equipped and yet still our ministries and personal lives don't seem to have a corresponding 'more and more' of growth and vitality.

At Youthworks College we've been using the tagline: 'engage your mind.  energise your ministry'. 

Recently the faculty team were talking together about the mission of the College as 'energising the whole church for children's and youth ministry'. 

Kerrie Newmarch shared with me her reflections on why she loved the word ‘energising’ rather than ‘equipping’ in that statement. 

She said, "I think it is comes from that place where I have been well resourced and equipped and yet had no energy, passion or desire for the task. Those times have made me recognise that equipping is not enough. I have seen amazing things being achieved by people who are energised (my dad describes it as ’ having a fire in your belly’) for the task that they undertake and some very bland and unexciting ministries that have every resource at their disposal."

Have you seen sporting teams playing with that fire in their belly, and others for whom the fire has gone out? 

Professional sporting teams have great skills and all the 'equipment' needed to get the task done. They've got the expensive shoes, the right training, expert coaching, even a desire to do well - but without energy, watching them play isn't the same, and (I presume) their enjoyment isn't the same.

Ministry is hard work, and youth and children's ministry no less so.  We need to be energised for the task.

The challenge of course is how to do this?  Equipping and training is relatively easy, but to energise?

The answer of course lies in the gospel, and Colossians 1:28-29 isn't a bad place to start:

    Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.  For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

Most churches have a plan for training and equipping members for service.  Do you have a plan for energising them for that service as well?