Adapted from [1]Twelve Dynamic Shifts for Transforming Your Church, E. Stanley Ott.  Grand Rapids, MI:  William B. Eerdmans Publ. Co., 2002.  

a.     Vital ministry is Spirit-driven:  Believe that God will use you in the life of another person or in the life of a group or in some other area of service.

b.     Vital ministry is biblically based.  Scripture both feeds our souls and tells us the “how.”    The methods of ministry can be accomplished through faith, hope, love, prayer, teaching, caring and sending forth.

c.     Vital ministry is discipleship-directed.  We encourage and equip persons to make a faith commitment to Jesus Christ and to grow in Christ’s image.  We encourage one another to love God and to respond to the work and call of God’s Word and Spirit in our lives.

d.     Vital ministry is need-responsive.  We realize that an individual’s needs are often the door through which we are able to introduce him or her to Jesus Christ.

e.     Vital ministry is “gathered-scattered” attentive.  We work to build the fellowship in its “gathered” state of large and small groups, and we seek to equip all believers for the Christian life and ministry when “scattered” to home, workplace, and community.

f.      Vital ministry is principle-patterned. 

i.     Witness:  communicating the good news about Jesus Christ

ii.     Prayer:  praying for the people being ministered to

iii.     Koinonia-care: having fellowship that grows friendships and addresses needs

iv.     Word centered:  teaching and applying Scripture to life

v.     “With me”:  including people with you in ministry and in life activities, and showing and sharing leadership

vi.     “Sending them”:  sending people to use their spiritual gifts to minister to others by leading groups as well as initiating interpersonal ministry 

vii.     Reflectively practiced:  We think, pray, consider what needs to happen and our role in it, and we appeal to Almighty God for help.