By the Rev. Katie Fick, Hayward and Trondhjem Lutheran churches

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God … ” (Ephesians 2:8, NRSV).

I am a new pastor. I have been in ministry at Hayward and Trondhjem Lutheran churches since July, enjoying getting to know people and what it means to do ministry here.

When I was ordained, one of my former pastors sent me a note of encouragement and advised me that the goal of ministry is not to be successful, but to be faithful.

This distinction may sound small, but it has been very helpful to me. We have started a new ministry at Hayward Lutheran called “Sunday Night Live!” with a free meal for all who wish to come, followed by songs and Bible stories for children, as well as crafts and games. It has been a joy to have people of all ages gather together, for children to sing and do actions to songs, to hear about people in the Bible and for them to know the people in the church care about them.

If I was going to try and measure the success of this program, the questions I might ask would be: How many children are coming? How many people have we served? Are people having a good time and returning? How do we increase our numbers?

But if I look at this new ministry with an eye on being a faithful disciple, I have a different set of questions. Are those who attend this ministry getting to know God and God’s love for them? How is the church opening itself to the community following Jesus’ command to love thy neighbor? How are we as we gather being the body of Christ together? What more can we do to be and make disciples of Jesus?

Which list of questions seems more important to you?

Questions about success seem basic to the way the world is ordered. How many sales did I make this month? How are my grades? Is the house clean enough? Did the mechanic get the car running again?

Yet the text from Ephesians reminds us, it is faith, a gift from God, that saves. God cares about your success only in the sense that God cares about you; you are not saved because of the job that you have or where you live or the car your drive. We are saved by the grace of God through faith and are called to be faithful disciples. We are not bound by the measurements of success but freed to be people of faith. This is not an easy thing for me to remember, and I am grateful for all the disciples around me as we figure out what it is to be people of faith together.