As I reflect on my seventeen months of college residency so far at Mercy Hill Church, I cannot help but be amazed at the transformation God has done in my heart posture towards ministry. As someone who has fallen into the performance mindset of work before, I can recall times in my residency where I have placed pressure on myself to do everything in my role in college ministry the best way I can to justify being in that role, to prove to my team and leaders that I can be trusted and to add value to the ministry. This performance mindset of needing others to see what I do has only hindered me from experiencing joy in residency and has left me chasing after something I was never meant to seek: my own glory.
Changing the Mindset
Navigating this mindset has been a journey. Acknowledging that I have been motivated by my own desire to do well and be seen by others is unpleasant to confront. Nevertheless, the church residency provided the ideal environment to fight this heart issue. During my time in residency, I have consistently encountered joys and challenges that have equipped me to face situations with wisdom and assurance that God goes before me in facing those situations. I am learning to not be discouraged by my tendency to seek man’s approval in ministry, but to instead rejoice in the trial of facing the issue and allowing God to change my heart to produce in me a steadfast faith which will cause me to become more like him (James 1:2-4).
There is no denying that God is moving in the college ministry at Mercy Hill Church. We have seen profound growth over a span of just one year and have seen lives redeemed and transformed along the way. It can be easy to begin giving credit to ourselves over the things we have seen God do and start looking for affirmation from the results. I am thankful that the residency has provided me with wise leaders who remind me that God has done all the work we have seen, and that I should praise him that he has used me to help accomplish it.
Not My Ministry
The reality is the college ministry at Mercy Hill Church is not my ministry. The two-year church residency I am in and the development I receive during my time in it is not just for me. The ministry I work in belongs completely to God and he has generously allowed me to be part of what he is doing through the ministry. The development I am receiving in residency is equipping me to impact the lives of those I work with and encounter with the gospel. My identity is not found in how well I do in my residency but in Jesus. The opportunities that God has given me to disciple students while I have been discipled by my leaders has helped me to see that everything I do is for God and his glory. I am reminded of the command to desire to do everything for God’s glory and not for man (Colossians 3:2) and I have the opportunity to choose to do this each day in my residency as I joyfully do my job with the desire that he would be glorified. I want my next seven months of residency to be marked by fully leaning into what God is doing in the college ministry while seeking to glorify him in the role he has placed me in, not worrying about my performance or what others could be thinking, but trusting that God has placed me in my role to be used by him in ways I could never have imagined.
As you consider stepping into a two-year ministry residency at Mercy Hill Church, my encouragement to you is that God will use your time in residency to contribute to accomplishing his mission. All you experience in the residency will be used by him to shape you into who he is making you to be and will prepare you to do everything for the glory of God and to do it somewhere strategic for the mission of God.
– Jimmy Kniss, College Ministry Resident