Ministry
Pentecostal churches too easily fall into the trap of calling ministry “spiritual” and elevating it if it involves a speaking ministry, and relegating anything else as “natural” and less important, if it doesn’t.
Ministry is serving. That’s what the word means. In whatever way I serve another person, I’m ministering to them. That might mean anything from helping them get a cup of coffee to giving them a lift home. It’s all ministry.
In the book of Acts the first two men (apart from the apostles) that God used greatly were Stephen and Philip. Both had effective speaking ministries and both saw great miracles.
But what was the first role the new church in Jerusalem gave them? Both were amongst the first deacons, men set aside by the church to make sure the Greek widows were given an equal share of what food was available as the Hebrew widows received (Acts 6:1-6).
Today this would not seem a very spiritual or very important ministry. But it was both spiritual and important. It was God’s training ground for both men.
Jesus had earlier said that the person who was faithful in small things would prove faithful in bigger things (Luke 16:10), that the person faithful with finances would be faithful in spiritual riches (Luke 16:11), and that the person who was faithful in looking after someone else’s affairs would be faithful when given their own to look after (Luke 16:12).
Stephen and Philip were tested first in each area. Their faithfulness with these seemingly “natural” areas was the training ground for a later effective speaking ministry.
No ministry is ever below us. Ministry is always serving.
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