I recently interacted with a ministry leader who is also a friend. He was sharing about a very real issue that can affect Great Commission work. It’s something he has been seeing a lot of first hand. With his permission, I took some of his thoughts to create this article.

We’ve all had those times when we are networking with another ministry leader and poor talk rears its ugly head and finds its way into the conversation. This acts like a disease and has a far-reaching impact not only on you personally, but also on those around you. Consider these five ways that poor talk can have a negative impact on your ministry.

1. Strains your relationships with friends: When a friend is constantly talking about their lack of funding or worse yet, belittling another gospel worker because they took the time to raise their funds, it can put a real damper on a friendship. Conversations will be more reserved and not as transparent. The friendship may tend to be more curt or surface-like creating “weirdness” between the two families.
2. Reduces ministry opportunities: If you are constantly talking about how underfunded you are, others will be slow to invite you into a partnership with them. The assumption will be that even if you were interested, you most likely would not be able to afford to travel or participate in the ministry opportunity. And they may have to endure your reminding them of your sacrifice while questioning God’s faithfulness.
3. Damages the reputation of your sending agency: When other leaders hear you talking about your lack of funding, it may cause others to question your sending agency on how well they prepared you for full-time ministry. Remember that you are most likely the only representative that most in your city/region will ever meet. The way you speak and behave leaves a lasting impression about the caliber of staff working for your organization.
4. Puts an extra burden on your family: It can be embarrassing for your family to constantly hear you speak about a lack of finances. Your spouse may be too reserved about participating in outings with friends and strong feelings of insecurity may arise. Your children may speak about it to others in the ministry community, at school, and possibly to people at church. They may even develop a “victim” mentality and question God’s faithfulness, which can leave a lasting scar in their spiritual development.  Sometimes you can instantly recognize when a family has a poor talk lifestyle simply by listening to their children.
5. Doesn’t honor God: Lastly, it does not honor God who is our provider. As Christians, we have been blessed with “every good and perfect gift from above.” Let’s ask ourselves if the reason that we’re not fully funded is because of a lack of generosity in the Christian community, or if perhaps it’s because we have not taken the time and applied the proper work ethic to properly raise our support for our family.

Let’s all commit to killing poor talk. Removing it from your life and your family may help catapult your ministry to the next level!