Ep. 239 The Burden of Ministry and Your Role in It

Show’s Main Idea – No ministry is an island that is separated from those they serve. As the head and body of Christ are unified and mobilized, you and I are one in our work. All ministries, whether church or parachurch, operate similarly. You want us to serve you, and we need you to help us to serve you. It’s a beautiful symmetry for God’s fame and everyone’s benefit.

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Show Notes

You may want to read:

• Testimonies from Our Community
• One Thousand+ Free Articles
• How You Can Help

Our Ministry

Our ministry produces articles, podcasts, videos, webinars, infographics, mindmaps, forum communities, and operates several social media platforms daily, weekly, monthly. There is more that we provide, plus all the work behind the scenes. I also do public speaking events and have written three books and more than twenty booklets.

To gain a perspective of what the Lord has done with this parachurch ministry, I’ve created a timeline that hits some of the highlights. Though I’m only “skipping the rock across the pond,” it will give you a clearer understanding of His excellent work in our lives and thousands of others.

A Ministry Timeline

1. Our ministry began on July 03, 2008.
2. We incorporated in January 2009.
3. We became a 501(c)(3) on July 06, 2009.
4. We started our membership site in December 2009.
5. In February 2012, we launched our Mastermind Program.
6. On September 19, 2013, we started our branding process.
7. Between 2008 and 2015, we had four websites.
8. In 2015, I started Your Daily Drive podcast.
9. In 2015, we hired Julie Hansen as a part-time administrator.
10. In October 2015, we moved to a more extensive website.
11. In October 2015, we moved our articles from behind the paywall.
12. In 2016, I began the Life Over Coffee podcast.
13. In January 2019, we hired Mark Grant and Brandi Huerta to help with our Mastermind program.
14. In October 2019, we hired Josh Etter to help us rethink our ministry.
15. In February 2020, we hired Josh Gravitt to help with community support.
16. In March 2020, we hired Jonathan Harris to handle website development.
17. In March 2020, we finished our current $25K website build.
18. In April 2020, we started our video production and hired Tristen and Haydn Thomas for post-production.

Making It Free

Our ministry’s goal is to make our resources free to anyone. All someone would need is Internet access, and they can benefit from our massive sanctification center. We are at the place where we can make this happen. We have targeted the rollout of my life’s work in the fall of 2020. But first, a few things must occur before we can do that. For instance, we have to prepare our website, and we need to have a donor base in place because we will lose much of our member support once it’s all online. We also must fill these positions:

1. Full-time Administrator
2. Part-time Administrator
3. Editor (Books and Articles)
4. Website Developer (DONE)
5. Mastermind Supervisors
6. Support Director (DONE)
7. Ministry Consultant
8. Podcast Production
9. Video Production (Rick’s kids have stepped up for now.)
10. LMS Developer for modular training courses for those who can’t take our more extensive Mastermind Program.

I have shared this long-time burden of mine with two business individuals, and they wanted to help. They said they would donate $25,000 a piece in a matching campaign. We would have to raise another $50,000 to meet their separate gifts, which would give us in total $100K, and position us for the next phase of our ministry—to make free access to all. (The exceptions are our private forums and online training, e.g., Mastermind Program.)

How You Can Help

To date, the Lord has given us $20,636 from seventy-seven individuals of the $50K that we need. We still need just over $29,363 to meet the matching campaign, which ends on May 10. To help push us past our goal, we’re making an offer that I trust will motivate you to donate.

• I will give away one of my books to any person who donates over $50. You can choose the book, and I will autograph it. If you want to give the book to someone, I will sign it, add a note that you would like for me to say (or I can write one), and we will mail it to that person.
• For the seventy-seven who have given already, if you want a book, as I outlined for new donors, please email me and tell me which book you would like, to whom you want us to send it, and what is the note you would like me to write.
• To donate, go here.
• New Donors: Once your donation arrives, we will email you to find out which book you want and further instructions.
• If you have any questions, email us here: [email protected]

One More Thing

Will you share our burden with your pastor or any other person or organization you believe would be interested in supporting us?

After the matching campaign ends at midnight, May 10, we will start work on getting your book to you or to the person you designate.

Rick Thomas

Rick launched this training network in 2008 to provide life-changing resources that equip Christians to help others. His primary responsibilities are resource creation and leadership development, which he does through speaking, writing, podcasting, and educating.

In 1990 he earned a BA in Theology, and in 1991 he received a BS in Education. In 1993 he was ordained into Christian ministry, and in 2000 he graduated with an MA in Counseling from The Master’s University in Santa Clarita, CA. In 2006 he was recognized as a Fellow of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC).