If you are a person in ministry, you have certainly felt a call to it. You knew God was tugging at your heart, pulling you in that direction; but what you may not have considered is the commitment that it takes to be in ministry.
Ministry is a position that has both a public commitment and a private commitment. Publicly, you are committed to those that you minister to, as well as the “tasks” of ministry. These tasks are found in many other positions, even those in the secular world. Tasks including bookkeeping, filing, and the like. One can learn the skills that it takes to accomplish these tasks and do so in a way that is pleasing to everyone involved.
The private commitment is much greater. This commitment includes the practices of spending time in prayer, reading and studying God’s Word and becoming spiritually disciplined. These private acts are truly more important to God, more than any of the things that you do publicly. These are disciplines/habits that the people you minister to, will never know if you keep or not. Far too often, even those of us in ministry, will put these things last in our lives; and though you might think that it will not make a huge difference, it will.
Prayer is an essential. Prayer is our communication with God, our Father. How can someone in ministry effectively minister to others without first communicating with their Heavenly Father? We should learn from the perfect example of Jesus, who often retreated to be alone to pray. He made spending time with the Father His priority. If the only perfect man who ever lived, spent time with God daily in prayer; why should we think that we as human imperfect ministers, should be able to do it all on our own?
Reading God’s Word is equally as important. God’s Word gives us direction, pierces our hearts and shows us where we need to add to or take away from our lives. It is the ultimate decision maker when we need to find answers, and will inspire us when we need encouragement. If you’ve been in ministry any length of time, you know you’ll need one or all of those things.
Becoming spiritually disciplined takes time. Spiritual disciplines may not be shared by everyone and can vary depending on your “belief system”. We’ve already mentioned, prayer and Bible study. Others include: tithing, fellowship, worship, evangelism, all things that we know we should be doing, but often struggle to do. That is why these things must be developed over time. We shall never cease “striving”. After all, Christians are on a journey to become more like Christ. We will never get there this side of heaven, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be disciplined in the practice of doing so.
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Alyssa Dees Avant is a Christian writer, speaker and blogger. She is passionate about ministry. Founding Beauty by Design Ministries to reach out to girls who are pressured and confused by the messages of style, fashion, and beauty. She is launching Faith Leaps to help others begin their journeys and fulfill their calls and dreams. She is married with three precious children all under the age of 5.
About CSAHM
Thank you for this. As a pastor’s wife, I can completely identify. I truly loved the last point…Becoming spiritually disciplined takes time. We in the ministry must remember that for ourselves, and others must acknowledge it as well. Just because we tend to be front and center a little more than others does not mean we already know it all. We have to grow slowly and steadily just like everyone else!
Thanks for this. Just subscribed.