We tend to think that pastors are the only people who have ministries. The reality, however, is that we all have ministries.\u00a0 The verb \u201cto minister\u201d means to attend to the needs of someone.\u00a0 Pastors happen to tend to the spiritual needs of people.\u00a0 But ministry is so much broader than that.<\/p>\n
Every interaction that you have with another person is an opportunity to minister to them. It is an opportunity to fill a need that they might have.\u00a0 For instance, your job becomes a ministry when you do it in a way that is inspired by the Holy Spirit and that is in service first and foremost to God. \u00a0<\/em>So if you are a cashier or a social worker, you minister to others when you assist them with kindness<\/em>.\u00a0 If you are a teacher or a coach, your ministry is to inspire others to learn<\/em>.\u00a0 If you are a supervisor or manager, your ministry is to lead people with wisdom and maturity<\/em>.<\/p>\n I know a young man who recently quit his job as a ballroom dance teacher at the studio where my husband and I take lessons. He had an argument with the owner, and huffed off as young people tend to do.\u00a0 What upset me about his quitting was his failure to understand that he was doing more than teaching dance.\u00a0 He had a ministry.\u00a0 When he taught dance, he encouraged people to feel good about themselves when they learned a new technique.\u00a0 He laughed and joked with his students, and gave them moments of joy in their day.\u00a0 One of his students had lost her husband.\u00a0 She told me that going to ballroom class had \u201csaved her life\u201d countless times.\u00a0 A paycheck does not compensate that kind of service.\u00a0 God does.<\/p>\n God asks us to be ministers in all that we do. You may think to yourself, \u201cWell, I just pump gas.\u00a0 People just want to get their car fueled up and then leave.\u201d\u00a0 Or, \u201cI\u2019m a boss, not a minister.\u201d\u00a0 You aren\u2019t \u201cjust\u201d anything.\u00a0 God purposely has put you in your position to minister to those who you encounter.\u00a0 You aren\u2019t in your position by chance.<\/p>\n God didn\u2019t endow you with certain talents solely for doing the task for which you are paid. He endowed you with talents to serve others.\u00a0 So if you are a good baker, you may bring happiness to your colleagues by bringing cookies to the office from time to time.\u00a0 If you are a very positive stay-at-home mom, you may encourage your child\u2019s teacher when he or she is feeling overwhelmed.\u00a0 If you are a skilled manager, you can give your subordinates a boost by telling them as often as possible, \u201cJob well done!\u201d<\/p>\n Not every person is meant to be a pastor. However, every person is meant to be a minister.\u00a0 We have countless opportunities each day to minister to others by building them up.\u00a0 A compliment or an encouraging word goes farther than you can imagine.\u00a0 Just think about the last time that someone paid you a compliment.\u00a0 How did that make you feel?<\/p>\n This week, think about why God has placed you where you are today. Who is he asking you to minister to?\u00a0 Who does he want you to serve?\u00a0 Don\u2019t let your gifts and talents go to waste.\u00a0 You have a ministry to fulfill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We tend to think that pastors are the only people who have ministries. The reality, however, is that we all have ministries.\u00a0 The verb \u201cto minister\u201d means to attend to the needs of someone.\u00a0 Pastors happen to tend to the spiritual needs of people.\u00a0 But ministry is so much broader than that. Every interaction that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n