Working in ministry is a breeze! FALSE!
Now, don’t get me wrong, ministry is one of the most, if not the most, fulfilling job in the world. But I’m not quite sure everyone that is in ministry or wants to be in ministry understands the cost of it. I believe that everyone can do ministry, after all when Jesus gave the great commission, it wasn’t just for the twelve apostles but for the Church as a whole.
Looking at the first church (The Way, Acts 9:2), I see a lot of hardworking people. I see a lot of people that were willing to die for the gospel they were proclaiming. And I know, there are many Christians today that are willing to die for their faith.
How many Christians today are noticed for their faith? The members of The Way received their death threats because they were noticed. (With that said, I understand that times are different now. We live in America, and it’s highly unlikely that someone will come into your church and start shooting.)
I hope that the point is seen here. The members of The Way worked their butts off. They were in constant ministry. If someone needed help in the middle of the night, The Way was there. If a family lost their house, The Way provided shelter. For all the hurting, needy, rich, outcast, wicked people, The Way was there. It was a movement that shared constant LOVE with everyone.
Take a look around. When is the last time you said, “Wow, that church is doing things for our city.” Or better, how many churches can you count that are doing things in our nation? Sadly I can count them on my two hands. Now I don’t know every church in America, and I know there are more churches that are impacting their cities than the few I can count on my hand.
A few churches I think of are places like Healing Place Church, Free Chapel, Elevation Church, Phoenix First Assembly, Generation Church, Hillsong NYC, LifeChurch.tv and Lakewood Church.
I’ll just mention a few cool things about each of these places.
Phoenix First Assembly is pastored by Tommy Barnet. Pastor Barnet is the pioneer of this concept called a Dream Center. For more information about the Dream Centers click here.
Healing Place Church is located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and is pastored by Dino Rizzo. When Pastor Dino started Healing Place, he founded it on that church being a “Healing Place for a Hurting World,” and that has been the vision and accomplishment of their church. They have used Pastor Barnet’s idea and launched two dream centers in their area.
LifeChurch.tv has taken a unique approach and launched the largest online church campus. LifeChurch.tv is pastored by Craig Groeschel and they are ministering through the power of the internet. They have taken a unique approach, and bought Google AdWords Ads that will attract people off of searches. If you have some free time, check out their services at live.lifechurch.tv and watch the chat.
And finally I’ll talk about Generation Church in Seattle, Washington. Generation Church is pastored by Judah Smith. Before Judah took over that church, his dad made a statement that I absolutely love: “Our goal is to make Jesus famous in Seattle.” Notice its not about Generation Church, or Pastor Smith, but Jesus.
Ministry is hard. It requires time. It requires patience. Humility. Love. Perseverance. It is going to require you to get your clothes a little dirty.