A little boy in our church invited me to attend his baseball game last season, and then again this season. I made it to one of his games today and the thought came to mind, baseball is a lot like ministry. Let me explain.

When we first start out, most of us do not know much about ministry and we need to learn the fundamentals. Kids who play baseball usually start out with Tee-Ball. The ball gets placed on the tee and a coach stands right in front of you and tells you how to hold the bat and when to swing. Your first swings don’t amount to much because inevitably you are going to hit the tee with your bat, or miss it altogether, or barely hit it, and then it dribbles out a few feet from the plate. I have to think the Spirit of God is much like that coach who is standing in front of you and telling you to hit the ball. First attempts in ministry are a learning process and it is often chaotic like a Tee-Ball game is. The people you are on the team with may or may not listen well to you and they run in different directions.

Then in baseball, you progress to coach pitch. You have some basic skills in hand including how to hold the bat, how to throw and catch, and where to actually run when it is time. Yet it is still a controlled environment. The coach who is pitching controls things while you continue to grow and learn. In ministry, you are doing things on your own but ideally, you have people around you who you can call and ask questions or people serving with you who can support and encourage you.

Next is player pitch and you are on your own. The pitcher may or may not bean you with the ball because he is still learning. Everyone on your team likely does not have the fundamentals in hand just yet, but you all continue to learn and grow in the sport. You are growing and getting stronger and more confident as you go along just like in ministry.

Eventually, in baseball, you progress to where you have the fundamentals down, along with strength and confidence, and you can see the fastball, the curveball, the sinker, and the slider. You may or may not be able to hit them, but at least you can see what is coming. You will arrive at a level of proficiency that you never thought possible when they put that first ball on the tee for you and told you to swing. Here is where it gets interesting. As you level up in competition you will win some and lose some. You will get on a hot streak where things are breaking your way, and you will experience a slump that you think will never end. What do you do? You keep listening to your coach. You keep going to the batting cage. You keep going to the plate. You keep running for that flyball. In ministry, you will experience many of the same things- victories, defeats, hot streaks, slumps, and disappointments. What do you do? You keep pressing on, trusting God, and working to get better in your service and faithfulness to Him.

My advice for ministry is much like baseball. Swing, batter, swing! If you have a calling on your life from God, get up to the plate, keep your eye on the ball, and stand tall. You cannot hit a ball that you never swing at!