https://odb.org/MY/2022/09/22/people-who-need-people
I think in doing ministry, whether directly in church or indirectly in the mission field wherever out Lord may have placed us, we need people. This is obvious because we are reaching out to people. Ministry cannot be unto ourselves although we could minister to God and God could minister to us. But that’s more worship than ministry. That is why I think for ministry to work well, every minister needs to be like a salesman – friendly and have a network of friends. To reach out we cannot be a loner working in isolation. We need to reach out to people in order to reach out to them with the Gospel. Thus as a person we should be friendly, approachable, joyful and compassionate – an embodiment of Christ and not gloomy, moody or always having a negative outlook on things. Despite the headwinds and stormy seas, God is able to work in our lives – that is the message of the Gospel.
The other aspect of ministry is that we also need people to do ministry itself. Not only people as the audience and recipients but people as co-workers in Christ. Working as a team is much better than working alone. We complement each other’s giftings and talents and offset our individual weaknesses and idiosyncrasies. As a ministry team, each contributes his or her strengths and share the burden together. As a team it also helps alleviate the pressure that comes with ministry. For example, preaching once a month is less stressful than preaching every Sunday. In my local church, our ministry team preaches between 2 to 3 times a year and that gives us more time to prepare and seek the Lord for a Word that is both rhema and logos for the congregation.
The conclusion is that as ministers and ministry workers we cannot escape meeting people, whether our own congregation, friends and family, colleagues or the general public. It is thus important that we always maintain a demeanour of hope and faith. The world may be going on a spiral of destruction and the great tribulation may be sooner than later and yet as salt and light of the world, we must always uphold the name of God and preach hope and faith amidst the gloom and doom, that Christ crucified and resurrected will make a difference in our lives!
Ronnie's Thoughts 