The Heart Attitudes: Part 6Sample

Heart Attitude #5 – Participate in the Ministry

Ephesians 4:11-12 “And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,”

Today we are going to take a deeper look into those two verses in Ephesians. How does the process work in the church?

In the last couple of hundred years, the notion of the clergy and the laity became more segmented. The clergy were the paid professionals in the church. They were the ones who were supposed to do all the ministry. The laity just sort of showed up, attended a few services, and gave some money to pay the ministers to get the job done. That is not the picture we find in the New Testament.

The description Paul gave to the church at Ephesus points to the reality that the church leader's task was to prepare or equip the saints for the work of the ministry. EVERY CHURCH MEMBER and EVERY CHRISTIAN is supposed to be doing the works of the ministry. Yes, that means you if you are a follower of Jesus.

Church leaders (paid or volunteer staff) are to equip the Saints. Saints are just members, not the Holy and Venerated select few. The word for equip has the meaning of making sure the nets were ready for fishing in the language of the New Testament. Church leaders are the ones who train, mend, and prepare others to be used by the Lord to do the work. 

Saints, those set apart for the Lord, are equipped to do something. They are not just being prepped to look good. They have a task to accomplish just as nets were never meant to sit on the shore or on the deck of the boat and look good! We are being built up or equipped to complete the works of the ministry.

Ministry is not a title but, in the verse, above refers to an act of service. It is actual work that serves others. Some acts of service are very visible like serving on the praise team or singing in the choir that helps facilitate authentic worship and praise of the Lord. Some acts of service go mostly unnoticed like cleaning the bathrooms or changing a diaper in the nursery. Both are equally important acts of ministry because they allow the cause of Christ to move forward.

As we serve, the body of Christ grows. We are building what the Lord desires. We are building up the body of Christ. The body of Christ is both all the people of God and the local expression of that which is your local church. 

If you are a believer in Jesus, you are a minister! How are you participating in the ministry of your local church?