Some of my dearest friends turned over their ministry in a country outside the United States to my leadership. They had spent ten years of blood, sweat and tears building that ministry. They had high hopes I’d keep it going.

Nine months later we were closing the doors and driving away. We shut down the ministry.

I was certain we had heard from God that it needed to end, but I felt like a failure.

That experience taught me something important.

With so much talk about “leaving a legacy” and “building something that outlives you” I think sometimes we forget God calls himself the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.

God is eternal, but he is the God of the beginning and the end.

Only the government creates programs that never end. God doesn’t seem so worried about things ending.

I think we often push things way past their expiration date. We think it’s noble. We grit our teeth and hold on. But I wonder if most of the time it’s just pride. We don’t want to look like a failure.

Some businesses need to close. Some churches need to shut their doors. Some relationships need to end. Some ministries are only for a season.

Wisdom in ministry requires knowing when it’s time to move on. I’ve found that when we have the courage to let loose of what we are holding so tightly, God will open brand new doors that exceed anything we could have imagined.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Revelation 22:13

By Joël Malm

Joël Malm is an author, speaker and life coach who leads outdoor expeditions around the world through his organization Summit Leaders. He has extensive experience abroad with missions and international humanitarian work.
@joelmalm   summitleaders.org

Original article: www.frontiersusa.org/blog/article/what-i-learned-closing-a-ministry