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God’s will for God’s glory.
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The word “ministry” has become a cliché. The real meaning of this word has been lost amidst the mire of personal egotism and the misconceptions resulting from Biblical illiteracy. It is not uncommon to hear people exclaim that they are active in ministry. But what exactly is meant by “ministry”? There is a need to clarify the Biblical definition of ministry. We must comprehend who we are as God’s people, where we are, and why we are here – God’s representatives in an alien country. We must become gripped by this truth or we will fail to see and respond to the purpose for our existence. The response to our purpose for existence should be encapsulated within the word “ministry.” The core essential for ministry is to bring glory to God while we embark in a selfless pursuit of His will through our worship, discipleship, relationships and stewardship.
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God-Focused Worship
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Ministry toward our God
Worship is not meant to be a static ritual, but rather it must be a way of life. As a church we have specific times for corporate worship where the body unites together in reverent adoration for our Savior and God.
We teach that worship is personal and should occur on a spontaneous basis as believers are reminded of the greatness and goodness of God. As we communicate our philosophy of worship we will see the following three principles:
- Biblical worship will exalt God – This may seem obvious, but in some churches today the “worship service” has disintegrated to a jam session where instruments are loud, but true worship is silent. Our focus should be God not ourselves.
- Biblical worship will be Spirit filled – It is often very natural to resort to duplicating the worship that we have seen in the lives of other Christians. We must allow the Holy Spirit to work in each of our lives in His own way without drawing a box around His capabilities.
- Biblical worship will unify the body – An ancillary result of true worship will be a unified local body of believers. This does not mean that worship will always look the same or that worship will always bring the same results. Rather we will journey into a growing unity with God.
Acts 2:47 “Praising God and having favor with all the people…”
Revelation 4:10-11 “The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”
II Corinthians 3:18 “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
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Personal
Discipleship
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Ministry of the Word
The term discipleship encompasses the New Testament command to find and train disciples. There are two words in the original languages that together communicate the essence of Biblical discipleship.
The first word means “to proclaim the Gospel.” Jesus Christ left His followers the “Great Commission” or the undeniable command to declare His Messiahship. Paul states that we are “ambassadors for Christ” (II Corinthians 5:20). In order to effectively proclaim the Gospel, we must present the following:
- Proclaim verbal witness for truth – Christians must be vocal about the Gospel. True witness is more than sheepish affirmation, it is graphic proclamation.
- Proclaim Biblical authority of truth – The Gospel is powered by Scripture and not by scribes. The entirety of human wisdom pales in the shadow of the inspired and inerrant Word of God.
- Proclaim personal testimony of truth – The testimony of a changed life is evidence of miraculous activity. If we look into our own individual lives, we have a testimony to proclaim in regards to the veracity of the Word of God.
The second word that will help us define true Biblical discipleship means “to direct one’s mind to something.” During His ministry, the concern of Jesus was not to impart information, nor to deepen an existing attitude, but to awaken unconditional commitment to Him. In order to effectively direct one’s mind to something we must understand that:
- Biblical discipleship is defined by a common objective – Each person must know that their goal is to fulfill God’s will for God’s glory. This is applicable no matter where a person is on his or her spiritual journey.
- Biblical discipleship is defined by a committed learner – The learner literally personalizes the common objective and becomes a champion for the cause of Christ.
- Biblical discipleship is defined by a consistent teacher – The ministry of encouraging personal discipleship in the life of another believer demands personal consistency. The teacher must not divide the loyalty of the learner but rather channel loyalty to Christ (Hebrews 13:8).
As each member of the body shares the power of God on a regular basis, we will see the local body grow. We will fulfill the command of Jesus to “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).”
Acts 2:42a, 47b “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine… And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”
Matthew 28:19-20 “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”
Acts 6:4,7 “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.”
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Meaningful Relationships
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Ministry to our Brethren
The idea of relationship is to participate corporately in order to fulfill a common objective. It is more than a gathering together, it is an actual growth together.
Relationship will be achieved by our church only when we regularly practice the following components of Biblical relationships as a corporate body:
- Biblical relationships encourage personal vulnerability – When we truly love others we will give of ourselves, disregarding our own egos and well-being.
- Biblical relationships encourage corporate partnership – Individuals will take a personal interest in the entire body of believers and will therefore rejoice when other rejoice and weep when others weep (Romans 12:15). Instead of being individuals that happen to attend the same church, we will become a team that shares the same purpose and journey.
- Biblical relationships result in a unified contribution – Individuals will judge progress by the growth of the body rather than the progress of the individual. We must measure the success of our relationships by the progress of the entire body of believers.
Acts 2:42 "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers."
1 Corinthians 12:12-14 “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.”
II Corinthians 8:2-4 “That in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.”
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Selfless
Stewardship
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Ministry of Ourselves
All that we have has been entrusted to us by God and we are called to serve others with these gifts.
As a church we will fulfill the concept of stewardship when we use our gifts through the church to minister to other body members. Stewardship will include the following essentials:
- Biblical stewardship expects sacrificial giving – God has entrusted to us a certain amount of money, and He expects a minimum tithe as well as our offerings. This is not merely an obligation, but an opportunity to give back to God who has been so generous to us.
- Biblical stewardship includes physical commitment – We look for ways to use what we have been given to assist others with physical needs. This commitment requires us to spend our time with people and our material resources for people.
- Biblical stewardship includes spiritual nourishment – Every teaching opportunity should be seen as a spiritual service to nourish the body. We must carefully and completely minister truth to the lives of others through thoughtful preparation, spiritual inspiration and Biblical motivation.
- Believers that are grounded in their faith will see a need to minister to other believers. This will be evidenced by an eagerness to generously give of our time, resources and knowledge to advance the cause of Christ through our local body.
Acts 2:44-46 "Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,"
II Corinthians 9:6-7 "But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver."
I Peter 4:9-10 "Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."
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