Ministry Toolbox: Encouragement File

I'm not exactly sure where I picked up this tool, but somewhere along the way, whether it was from one of my undergrad courses or a suggestion of my college roommate, it's become one of the most valuable tools in my ministry tool box. The encouragement file.

Like a hammer, my encouragement file is nothing elaborate, just a regular manila folder. But it's contents can fuel me for months, sometimes years at a time. Since college, I've saved just about every note or communication that acknowledged some difference I had made in some one's life - notes of encouragement. I don't look at the file often, but in going through files a few weeks ago, I took a few moments to read through the file yet again. I was surprised at how I'd forgotten what was in that folder. Notes from close friends that I can't even remember the context in which they were written, but that isn't what matters, it's the messages they contain that lift my spirits. Email messages, cards, one-sided notes, some as small as a business card, they're in there, each with a message that picks me up. Granted, the file isn't overflowing.

As in a lot of other contexts, we probably don't encourage one another or build each other up as much as God, speaking through Timothy, intended. My ministry journey has at times required passing through the desert and in some cases the distance from one oasis to the next has been a long stretch. It's in those times when I've used the encouragement file to keep me going. (After my experience yesterday, so does being the Secret Reader - I happened to pass the grade 1 class in the hallway this morning and they all waved as if I was the King of England.)

My encouragement file is a key tool in my ministry toolbox and like a hammer, I strongly recommend everyone in ministry keep an encouragement file in their toolbox as well.