"I came not to be served but to serve.,.." Mark 10:45 "Whoever desires to be first, shall be slave of all." Mark 10:44
First, "ministry" doesn't just refer to preaching but to all services rendered by believers who use their spiritual gifts for the growth or edification of the body of Christ. There are downfalls as well as fringe benefits and an upside. Just like it is more blessed to give than to receive, the person doing the ministry feels the most joy over the one who benefited. Now, most Christians are in the dark as to their gifting and this is because they have never ministered. You don't just serve where you want to or think your gift is, but whenever and wherever the opportunity arises to serve and see where God blesses you. God isn't so much looking for ability as for availability. Showing up is 90 percent of the success!
We do not need impressive resumes to minister because God opens the door and breaks the sound barrier for to reach others. Another distinction: ministry is to believers or to the body, and mission is to the lost. And we must always keep the man thing as the main thing and not major in minors with our mission statement. Many ministries seem like thankless jobs or of no consequence or fanfare or glory but to God, they are all vital to the work of the equipping of the saints. The unfortunate thing is when we have good intentions and poor follow-through; that is why we need to be faithful and obedient and leave the success to God.
We need to focus on what matters! Recognize boundaries in our people skills and even our limits and not overestimate ourselves or even take ourselves too seriously. We have to realize that sometimes we can't win and let Gop provide the growth as we water and plant seeds. Big misunderstandings happen when we have a failure to communicate and people get the wrong impression. There are two kinds of ministers to mention here at work: those who have been humbled and those who will be! If you think you're already humble, get out of the ministry!
We are all called by God and are suited to minister in our own way. We must not have excuses when God calls like Moses: Who am I? I am clumsy with words, they will not believe me! we must trust God with the results and realize we can move mountains and walk on water with mustard-seed faith. It is not how big our faith is but how big our God is and what the object of our faith is. Remember, God is not looking to success or achievement or accomplishments but to faithfulness and obedience. We should be humbled that God is just using us as servants or vessels of honor. It isn't our resume that suits or qualifies us but the Holy Spirit's residence in our hearts. We don't want results from the energy of the flesh or the ways of the world but the glory to God in the power of the Spirit. As they say, you can accomplish much if you don't care who gets the credit; likewise in ministry: if you give God the glory, He will use and bless you.
Remember that the mission of the church is to fulfill the Great Commission. And there is no social gospel but you could say we have a social commitment to the betterment and blessing of our society. We may think we have a thankless job but what matters is the spirit we do it in and our faithfulness. The best we can hope for is that Jesus says: Well done thou good and faithful servant! That is why we look for the open door and earn our right to minister. Our deeds must correlate and match our creeds! That they may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven.
Now, someday this mission will be the Great Completion and in the fullness of time Christ will come to reward us and our work never finishes as we never retire from the Lord's work. We should all have a Great Commitment to the Great Commission and the Great Commandment! The best mission statement of a church body I have seen is to be committed to knowing the Lord and making Him known! Soli Deo Gloria!