The Needs of the Children

As you know, like a father with his own children, we encouraged, comforted, and implored each one of you to walk worthy of God. —1 Thessalonians 2:11–12

As the apostle Paul described his ministry to the Thessalonians, we see that he dealt with them as a father deals with each of his children as individuals. Those children were all different— they had different needs and were in different places of growth. Paul, as a spiritual father, was attentive to that. He dealt with them according to what they needed.

When it comes to ministry, we need to tailor it to where people are. Some people need to be encouraged. Sometimes they need to be consoled. And sometimes they need to be charged to get out of a situation immediately. We need to remember they’re at different places in their journeys and need different things at different times.

As you minister to others, whether it be your children, friends, people at church, coworkers, etc., ask God for wisdom to discern what they need. And keep the ultimate objective in mind—that each person would “walk worthy of God.”

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“Portrait of an Effective Servant” (Revive Our Hearts series)

Scripture taken from The CSB