Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome

How does one measure success in ministry? Longtime pastor Kent Hughes and his wife Barbara urge readers to turn to God s Word rather than numbers.

Every year thousands of God s servants leave the ministry convinced they are failures. Years ago, in the midst of a crisis of faith, Kent Hughes almost became one of them. But instead he and his wife Barbara turned to God s Word, determined to learn what God had to say about success and to evaluate their ministry from a biblical point of view.

This book describes their journey and their liberation from the success syndrome the misguided belief that success in ministry means increased numbers. In today s world it is easy to be seduced by the secular thinking that places a number on everything. But the authors teach that true success in ministry lies not in numbers but in several key areas: faithfulness, serving, loving, believing, prayer, holiness, and a Christlike attitude. Their thoughts will encourage readers who grapple with feelings of failure and lead them to a deeper, fuller understanding of success in Christian ministry.

This book was originally published by Tyndale in 1987 and includes a new preface.