The Gift of Ministry or Serving

One of the greatest wonders concerning the gifts of the Holy Spirit are not in how many gifts are available, but how they are used within the body of Christ. As we learned previously, all gifts are for building up the church. The gift of prophecy being one of the best (according to Paul) in edifying the church. But another gift that is just as important is the gift of ministry or serving.

The word “ministry” comes from the Greek word diakonia and literally means “servant”. You often hear people within church circles say endearingly, “He (or she) has such a servant’s heart” and in truth people with this gift really do! They love to serve others. They take great joy in it. In fact, the first people to be recognized with this gift were those appointed in Acts 6:1-7. 

Now this word “ministry” should not be confused with what a pastor does. The gift of “pastor” is different than the gift of “ministry”. While a pastor does “serve” his congregation, his main gifts would be prophecy, teaching and exhortation (although I’m sure they have more). But as the Apostles pointed out in Acts 6:2, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables,” so like the apostles, a pastor would be more concerned in shepherding his flock. He “serves” the congregation better, by exhorting from the Word of God and not having to worry about the administration aspects of running a church.

However, one would usually find that the two go hand in hand. For if the word “ministry” literally means servant, than a pastor could not do his job if he did not also have the gift of ministry. So, to keep things simple and less confusing, for the rest of this post I will refer to the gift of ministry as the gift of servanthood or serving.

In Acts 6:1-7 we see the qualifications for someone with the gift of servanthood as given by the apostles:

•    They must have a good reputation.
•    They must be full of the Holy Spirit.
•    They must be wise.

It is from this passage in Acts 6 that most people believe we get the office of deacon or deaconess. Mainly because this particular office employs the gift of serving. But we must not mistake an “office” or “position” in the church as a gift, as they are two completely different things. Gifts are given directly through and by the Holy Spirit. Whereas an office or position in the church, such as a deacon or elder, is a man-made position which is blessed with the laying on of hands by those with the authority to do so (usually a pastor). While the office of deacon employs the gift of serving, it is not actually a gift of the Holy Spirit. To see a complete list of character traits necessary to become a deacon read 1 Timothy 3:8-13.

Opportunities to Serve
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Those with the gift of serving are usually very easy to spot in church circles. They are the ones who are usually right in “the thick of things”. For example, my best friend’s husband is a very good cook and so he is our church “chef” so to speak. He plans meals for hundreds of people and dozens of events each year. He shops regularly for the best deals in town, often travelling to many different places for those deals. And while he has a church budget to use to get all the necessary food items, and is reimbursed for gas, he spends a great deal of his time serving in this way. And from what I’m told, it is a full-time job. He is retired so he doesn’t mind, but he is also very sick and he still goes out to do his weekly shopping runs. He has a true servant’s heart.

There are many opportunities for those with a “servant’s heart” to minister in the church – visiting the sick in hospital, as a deacon or deaconess, in the nursery, or as a Sunday school teacher, to name a few. There are also ways to employ the gift of serving outside the church - helping in the community, volunteering at hospitals or even just reading to children after school.

I have another friend who, many years ago, was our church janitor. He had the qualifications to be an ordained minister. He spoke three languages. Had even received his Master of Divinity degree and more, but instead he chose to serve as our janitor. At the time he served our church, he was more qualified in credentials than our own pastor! But he loved to serve, more than he loved to preach. Why? Because he had the gift of serving. He loved to study the Bible and so he thought his calling was to preach, but he discovered that even with all his degrees, he could not dismiss the gift God had given him – that of serving others. And so he made the decision to use his gift of serving by becoming our janitor, and our church was the better for it. For his gift shined on Sunday mornings when members came into the church and could see how well taken care of it was – and this dear man still managed to serve as a Sunday school teacher and wherever he was needed. He had a true gift of serving.

Are you always looking to the needs of others, putting them before your own? Do you seek to please God, by serving in ways that may be “behind the scenes” where you might not get appreciated or even thanked for what you do? Then you may have the gift of serving.

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