Word of the Week - Ministry
“But I do not account my life of any value nor as a precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” - Acts 20:24
In last week’s “Word of the Week” I shared on one of my favorite principles “sowing and reaping”, see below. We serve a God of multiplication who desires for us to be force multipliers in reproducing what He has done in us. This can sound big and overwhelming, but it’s simple. It comes down to us taking the blessing and gifts that God has given us and sharing them with others in the name of Jesus. This is ministry and as followers of Jesus, He calls us all to be ministers and share His goodness with others.
Ministry defined – Ministry is from the Greek word diakoneo, meaning “to serve”. In the New Testament, ministry is seen as service to God and to other people in His name. Jesus showed us what it looked like to minister to others. He came, not to receive service, but to give to others. “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” Matthew 20:28 As followers of Jesus, one of the fruits of our abiding relationship with the Lord is a desire to serve others with love and humility and share what God has done in us. We minister to others out of our love and devotion to the Lord as a response to His amazing grace and love for us. We all have an innate (God given) desire to love and serve others, it just needs to be activated.
Ministry of all Believers – Ministry is often thought of from a vocational ministry perspective as we call pastors and priests to full time service. I am grateful for all who are called to full-time ministry, and they are rightly designated as ministers. That being said, pastors and priests are not the only ones called to ministry. As followers of Jesus, we are all called to be ministers. This starts with the fact that as the Church, we are part of a body of believers, and all have a part to play.
Our ministry starts by being plugged into a healthy local church, so we have connection and covering. This is the proper order of things and how we grow and are fed as part of the community of believers. “They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common.” Acts 2:42-43 Within our church, we are given opportunities to be part of the team effort to serve others within our church family and those within the community who may not have a church family. We are surely better together as a body of believers and God uses the collective gifts and resources of all believers to spread the good news of Jesus and literally “change the world”. I am very fortunate to be part of an amazing church where I have been able to serve for over 20 years. I am awe struck when I reflect on how God has used our church in building His Kingdom by “ministering to others” in the name of Jesus. For example, since our founding in 2001 we have seen nearly 250,000 documented salvations through our church. It is one of the most fulfilling aspects of my life to be part of such an amazing ministry. We get to play a part in His Church while we grow and mature in our faith and ministry. Ephesians 4:12-13 says we are “to equip His people for the works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ”.
Unique calling and gifting – God created us all with unique interests, passions and giftings and He desires for us to use these things in ministry. This was one of the most exciting things I discovered when I came into a personal relationship with Jesus and started walking out my faith by using my gifts to minister to others. I was so excited about my newfound faith that I considered going into full time vocational ministry, which felt a little awkward, especially for my wife Amy who was not feeling it. I shared this with my pastor over lunch one day and he asked me why I was thinking about going into full time ministry and I told him that I thought that was what you were supposed to do if you got serious about your faith. He laughed and encouraged me to simply pray about how God might use me in my current vocation of business. He then said something profound that I had never really considered, He said “Duane you can minister to people from your business platform that we may never be able to reach from the church”. That was one of the best days of my life, as I realized that God could use me if I was simply willing to be used. Well, that was 24 years ago and all I can say is praise God and “wow”. “Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly; if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shoes mercy, with cheerfulness.” Romans 12:6-8
Just Do it!!!! Minister from where you are with what you have and watch God do His great work in you and through you - I continue to be amazed with what I get to do and how God allows me to be part of what He is doing through so many amazing ministries. Just in the past few weeks I have been part of ministering (serving, sharing my faith, equipping, encouraging, admonishing, loving, giving etc.) to hundreds of people using my simple but unique gifts and passions through several ministries that I get to be part of that include: Church of the Highlands COH, Highlands College Highlands College, Fellowship of Companies for Christ FCCI, and Heritage Forum Heritage Forum.
Each of us has a unique set of skills, gifts, interest, and passions that God wants to use to minister to others both within and outside of the body of believers. He can use each of us right where we are if we are simply willing to be used and remain connected to the vine of Christ, John 15:5. By the way, Christian ministry is as practical as it is spiritual. We do not have to be overly spiritual, evangelistic or bible scholars, it simply requires a heart to love and serve God and others. To simply share what God has shown us and what He is doing in our lives. Ministry can and should simply ministering to the needs (physical, emotional, mental, vocational, financial etc.) of others in the name of Jesus, just like Jesus did. He simply fed people because they were hungry. He met them and loved them where they were. This is ministry, and I have found it to truly be the joy of our faith. God created us for this purpose to love Him and love and serve others.
Challenge Questions: Are you plugged into and serving at and through your local church? Are you using your gifts and passions to serve others in the name of Jesus? Do you feel like God is using you and your platform of life to make a difference for eternity? If not, today is the day to begin!!!!
“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but I all of them and in everyone the same God at work” ” 1 Corinthians 12:4-6
So be encouraged, God wants to use each of us to minister to others what the Lord has ministered to us!