Ministry Essentials
What is Ministry - Part 4
The Christian is motivated in ministry by love (part 1). And all ministry must be oriented toward the church (part 2). Yet Christian vocation (part 3) is distinct from ministry. Though your job is not what the church is doing, all Christians are still motivated by their convictions and service to the Lord. This exploration into the meaning of ministry is important because we must remember what God has called the church to do. I’ve heard of churches doing everything that you might find in a small town, like running bakeries, fitness centers and barber shops. Some Sunday morning productions rival the cutting edges of Hollywood. How can church look so different in the affluent west than the rural third world, or even from what church has looked like throughout history? What are the timeless essentials that ought to be true for every church of every nation throughout all of time? If it’s what God has called us to do, then it must be universally true as grounded in his eternal word. Acts 2:42 is a good place to start.
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
There 4 Church Ministry Essentials:
1. The Apostle’s Teaching
Since we all come together to worship and submit to our Lord Jesus Christ as disciples who seek to obey all that he has commanded us, we must be devoted to the apostle’s teaching. Together with the wisdom and prophetic foreshadowing of the Old Testament, the New Testament is the authoritative teaching for the church regarding the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our devotion to God’s word in all that the church does is critical for anything that is done by the church. The gospel in God’s word is what he has entrusted us with. If we are not utilizing God’s word, can we rightly call it a church ministry?
2. The Fellowship
Not only do we care about God’s word, but we care about God’s people. All of God’s word must apply to all of God’s people. Being devoted to fellowship is a whole lot more than making sure we have a potluck meal, though I really like potlucks. We must be people oriented in all we do. We have to know each other and be in each other’s lives is we are going to be making disciples of one another.
3. The Breaking of Bread
The breaking of bread is clearly distinct from the fellowship meal. It refers categorically to the ordinances of the church. The Lord’s Table is the regular means we have of marking off who the people of God are. It’s not hard to assume this same devotion applies to our baptizing of believers and bringing them into the family of God. It is after all an essential component of the Great Commission. What this devotion means for us is that we are committed to the institutionalized church.
4. The Prayers
Finally, the prayers. There is a devotion here to specific prayer offer by the church. This isn’t just your closet devotions. Prayer must be intentional and part of the public worship. It’s not just tacked on as something we open and close with. The whole of worship is interactive. We’re communing with God. We’re responding to him. We listen as God speaks to us, and then we respond in song and prayer. We’re exercising our faith together and seeking his will and commission for our lives.
Much more could be said about these essentials for church ministry. We must have at least these, and we must major in these. Many churches take on so much else that crowds out the most important components. Perhaps with a more simple view of church ministry like this, we’ll see the rightful place that other ministries can have in the life of the Christian in the context of the church. More on how other ministries fit into the picture in the weeks ahead.