When the Blueprint for Ministry Is as Simple as the Gospel

A Big Word with Even Bigger Expectations

“Ministry” sometimes seems like a really big word with lots of strings attached. When I hear it, I immediately picture church leaders operating inside a building with a mission statement and a logo. For a long time, this word filled me with both intimidation and excitement. 

I knew that in the past, “ministries” and the people behind such things had shared with me the truth of the gospel in ways that pierced my heart and, at times, even altered my life’s trajectory. That was the exciting part. 

The intimidating part was the strings that were attached. If ministry looked like powerful preachers, fire and brimstone sermons, and a big stage – would I ever be able to be a minister? I felt the call to “minister,” but I couldn’t really see myself on that stage. I had this preconceived notion of what it meant to be a “minister” and I didn’t think I fit into it. 

I’m Not a Church Leader, How Can I Be a Minister?

This is a misconception that young Christians often fall into about ministry. First of all, how I minister isn’t going to fit some sort of mold. And second of all, I don’t have to try to squeeze into a pair of shoes that don’t fit me. 

If I’m not meant to lead on the front lines of a ministry as a “lead pastor,” that doesn’t mean I can’t be a minister. 

God often uses people with these kinds of skills to pierce the hearts of His children with life-altering truth. That’s what I had experienced. But that may not be my path, and that is more than okay.

The Lord has shown me that “ministry” is something simple and uncomplicated. Ministry happens when we showcase a facet of the Father’s heart through words or actions in a way that is needed and makes someone feel seen and loved by God. 

In some ways, the idea of ministry has taken on a new meaning, which honestly, was the source of my confusion. When some people use the word “ministry,” they mean sort of what I mentioned before – a building, organizational leaders, a logo and a mission. But “ministry” isn’t limited to this kind of expression. 

Can God work through that kind of ministry? Of course! He totally does. But that is not the only kind of ministry there is. 

But the Lord has since shown me that “ministry” doesn’t have to mean a building, a whole staff, a budget, and an agenda. I can be one person who “ministers” to one other person, and that can be considered “ministry” too. It can even be just as important. 

And that’s why a definition as simple as the one the Lord outlined for me – “any time you showcase a facet of the Father’s heart to someone in a way that they needed” – is the best way to describe it. Because with this definition, we don’t rule out any form, expression, or avenue through which people can be pursued and seen by God. 

The Ministry Blueprint

The gospels are full of wonderful examples of Jesus "ministering" to others. But can I be honest? I think there’s one that stands out as the “ministry blueprint.”

And it’s the story of Jesus and the woman at the well in John 4. 

All of us have been the woman at the well – in the dark, longing for answers, totally unseen. And then someone reflected Jesus to us, piercing our hearts with truth so good we went running into the city telling every soul about it. That’s what it feels like to be ministered to. That’s what it looks like to minister to someone else. 

We can’t be Jesus, but we all have the capacity to imitate his character if we spend enough time around Him. And the people who have, they start to look and act like Him, don’t they? Anyone who does that is a minister. Moms, school teachers, baristas, accountants, daughters, hair stylists, realtors, anyone really! You know what's a cool thing about God? He can work in impossible, unbelievable, fantastical ways through the mundane, the everyday, and the ordinary. 

For me, that’s where my ministry is. 

~Josephine Yarlott