What IS ministry?
A look into one of my journal entries that is essentially me verbally processing something which turned into a great blog post:
That’s a great question. Honestly, I still don’t completely know. Even though I’ve been “doing” ministry for the last 3 years, I think I developed a definition for it that is inaccurate. However, I believe there are two things God has recently spoken to me about what ministry is.
1. It’s loving the person in front of you well.
2. It’s not being present at every event but being fully present at the events you attend.
The last few years I’ve worked in various “ministries.” Children’s ministry, women’s ministry, young adults/college ministry, Spanish ministry, outreach, missions, and various work with other grades and departments. I guess my definition turned into doing things for the church and going along with what the church is doing. But if WE are the church… then ministry just might look a little different than the picture my mind painted. Ministry isn’t about the overall group but our individual acts and relationships. Sure, it may be leading a small group, making graphics, preaching, or teaching. But it’s also in the individual coffee dates. In the late-night phone calls with someone who is struggling. It’s in giving someone an encouraging word that takes 20 seconds or 3 hours to share. Ministry is allowing God to move through you daily, no matter what that looks like.
I actually googled the definition of ministry and the common definition is “the work or vocation of a minister of religion.” Looking further into it I also came across a definition listed as “rare.” It says “the action of ministering to someone.” I don’t believe ministry is meant to be tied to the words ‘work’ or ‘job’ yet in a way I did that.
So, what has ministry looked like on the race? Well, it has looked like helping out in the children’s English school in Japan and interacting with the kids. It looked like organizing the café and making coffee for patrons. For others on my squad it looked like painting a fence and holding conversations in English. It looked like prayer walks and even more confusing for me… hosting concerts and movie nights. Throughout my squad, ministry was passing out flyers and coffee samples, playing spike ball with kids down the street, going to a preschool and playing with the kids then making Mochi with them. Ministry looked like building relationships with people. Even when they were the ones bringing you candy yams, or taking you to their home to show you a traditional Japanese instrument (AND LETTING YOU PLAY IT!!!). Ministry was inviting our new friend who wasn’t a believer to have dinner and play games with us, because she is God’s child, even if she doesn’t know it yet. (Side note: she did accept Christ on our last day in Ishinomaki!) It’s allowing someone to bless you continually and learning to accept it while pursuing a relationship with them and learning about their life to encourage them in their walk with God. It’s going to a bath house with someone who has simply missed community.
Then you go to a new country and it looks different again. In Taiwan ministry has been talking to the people within and owners of the hostel because they are someone God has currently put in your path and all ministry is doing what you can for God with what is directly in front of you. It’s having in a conversation in English with the kind old man who sits next to you in the park while you are worshipping as a team. And sure, YOU got to pray for HIM but he just loves being able to talk in English so he keeps thanking you. It’s randomly walking by a church in Taiwan who doesn’t usually meet that evening and then getting to attend church there and have a worship night with them. Hearing that the church was encouraged by our presence and then adding one from their congregation to our number for a week of ministry in another town! Like, what??? It’s cleaning bathrooms in the hostel but also worshipping at the park. It’s worshipping across the river from the Buddhist part of lantern festival and watching someone accept Jesus into their heart.
Ministry is praying for those situations you can’t do anything for. It’s laying the foundation of prayer needed in a new place for God to move in an area or in someone’s life specifically. It’s inviting people over for game nights or along your prayer walk and worship night. Ministry can be cleaning and organizing the churches new property which includes but is not limited to storing everything in one room, sweeping, removing stickers off of walls and all the leftover residue, filming dude perfect basketball shots, moving trash, mopping, vacuuming and drinking lots and lots of bubble tea.
Ministry is… well, life… just like they’ve been trying to teach us since training camp. Ministry is living your normal life, every day, but simply bringing God into every moment. It’s giving your team feedback because you want to encourage them or call them to something higher. It’s buying someone a fruit they’ve never tried because you are being intentional about spending time with them (this is how a squad mate ministered to me!!), It’s buying groceries for a squad mate when you are making the trek to the big store. Ministry is life. Life is lived by loving. And loving people is true ministry. It’s welcoming your squad leader with open arms. It’s words of affirmation, it’s quality time, it’s doing what someone else enjoys (anime!!!), it’s giving gifts or sharing a story you think they would like. It’s being touchy with those who are physical touch and remembering to maintain some boundaries with those who aren’t.
I can’t give you an exact definition on what ministry looks like, because it has no exact definition. It’s going to vary person to person and place to place because God has made us all to be different and with different opportunities in our path.
Ministry is not the work it turned into in the states for me, a to-do list. It’s just living each day with the intention of spreading God’s love in whatever way that means.
