What is the gift of ministering?

Ministering, or helping others, is a very common spiritual gift found in churches.  Many believers like to minister and help others within churches by working behind the scenes, with most people not even knowing about their efforts.  On the other hand, you have believers who visibly serve others within the church be it serving in a ministry, or just plain helping out where someone needs an extra hand.  Yet, you still have the function of ministering in an official capacity…often referred to as ministers, servers, or deacons.  Neither method of ministering or helping others is inferior to the other…but rather they are just various roles with different responsibilities. 

For example, you have certain individuals who volunteer hours of their personal time to clean, maintain and/or repair church facilities, when nobody is in the building, or maybe they work a sound booth in the back of the church during the services.  Too often, their efforts go unnoticed to others within the church; however, many of these people prefer to keep a low-profile.  On the other extreme, you have many believers who visibly minister and help others during the normal hours of the church services and activities.  On the surface, the only difference between these ministering roles seems to be the personality temperaments of the people, whether they are extroverts or introverts.  However, the Holy Spirit ultimately decides who he will use for any role, regardless of his or her personality temperament. 

The Apostle Paul includes the gift of ministering or helping twice in his letters, once to the Romans and the other to the Corinthians.

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many from one body, and each member belongs to the others.  We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.  If a man’s gift is…serving, let him serve….” (Romans 12:4-7 NIV)

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.  And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others….” (I Corinthians 12:27-28 NIV)

The spiritual gift of ministering is not necessarily synonymous with the function of ministering, in that a deacon, server or minister are usually held to higher leadership standards than someone volunteering in a non-leadership role.  The Apostle Paul makes this standard clear in his letter to Timothy.

“Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain.  They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience.  They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.” (I Timothy 3:8-10 NIV)

Overall, the spiritual gift of ministering, or helps, is when the Holy Spirit guides a believer to attend to the needs of others for the ultimate purpose of glorifying God.  There are many believers who have the gift within our churches.  Some of these believers are in church leadership positions, while others just find a niche to serve within the church – whether openly or behind the scenes.  Of course you still have others, with the gift of ministering as well as the gift of apostleship, which may represent their local churches and/or denominations/affiliations as traveling ministers sharing their God-given talents and gifts to others in different areas of the world.  Regardless, ministering to others serves as a testimony of God’s love. 

What is the gift of leadership?

Who actually leads a church?  Is it a pastor, a church board, or a religious affiliation/denomination?  Should the believer have an extroverted or introverted personality temperament?  How is the gift of leadership relevant to the local church?

The Apostle Paul includes the gift of leadership in his letter to the Romans as well as to the Corinthians.

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many from one body, and each member belongs to the others.  We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.  If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith…if it is leadership, let him govern diligently….” (Romans 12:4-6, 8 NIV)

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.  And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.  Are all apostles?  Are all prophets?  Are all teachers?  Do all work miracles?  Do all have gifts of healing?  Do all speak in tongues?  Do all interpret?  But eagerly desire the greater gifts? (I Corinthians 12:27-30 NIV, italics added for emphasis)

In the Old Testament, when Moses left the Israelites for a length of time to talk with God on Mount Sinai, the Israelites lost sense of God’s vision and decided to build a golden calf to worship their own gods.  The Israelites said, “…Come, make us gods who will go before us.  As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” (Exodus 32:1 NIV)  King David understood the responsibility of being a God-fearing leader with the words, “Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies – make straight your way before me. (Psalm 5:8 NIV)  King Solomon also reiterated this same concept by warning against the lack of leadership, “Where there is no vision, the people perish….” (Proverbs 29:18 KJV)

 

In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul indicates that an overseer of a church should have the ability to lead others with all honesty.  He makes this clear with the following words and subsequent rhetorical question.  “…If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer…He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respects. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)” (I Timothy 3:1, 4-5 NIV)  In other words, people need a leader who can cast God’s vision for their lives as well as the local church.

God has chosen many people over the years to lead his people.  Moses led the Israelites out of their oppression in Egypt. (Exodus 14:15-18, 29-31)  Years later, as the Israelites cried out for help from their oppression, they were helped by Deborah, a prophetess who was leading Israel at that time. (Judges 4:3-5)  In the New Testament, God still uses leaders to watch over his flock, be it as an overseer or pastor of a church, an administrative person or church board member, or a person of faith leading in a civil position of responsibility.  In summary, the spiritual gift of leadership, or governments, is when the Holy Spirit guides a believer to diligently lead others and/or an organization by perseverance and adherence to the Word of God.