The mystery of ministry

The mysteriousness of ministry 

Is what we’re doing making a difference? How?

How will we ever know if what we have said or done has truly accomplished anything? 

Will we always just have to rely on the promise of the Lord that he will make something happen with our meager contributions? 

These are questions that we as pastors probably wrestle with (or try not to think about because we can’t come up with the answer). 

But there is something profound about the mystery of ministry 

We keep praying, keep preaching, keep reaching out to people. We press on to invite another person and share the gospel with new people and in new ways. We prepare another program, another lesson, another event. 

All in the hopes that someone will hear the gospel truth and the voice of God and that they will believe and be truly set free. 

We hope and pray that almost like osmosis, these people will come in contact with us and will sense the power of the Holy Spirit flowing from us to them. 

The mystery of ministry is that we can’t ultimately analyze every individual effort and see whether it is effective or not. 

Of course we ought to review our efforts and ask the Lord to give us wisdom and insight and that He would guide our steps. 

But in a very different way than commerce and industry, ministry is not about clear and concise tracking of ROI (return on investment). Instead ministry is about pouring out what we have received from the Lord and trusting that he will bring fruit from our intimacy and fruit from our obedient labor, done in His name.

So Pastor, I encourage you. Continue to pray. Continue to preach. Continue to have conversations and plan programs and ministries and events. But above all, make sure that what you are doing is rooted and grounded in the gospel and bathed in prayer. May our ministries be for the glory of God and the salvation of the those who hear.

Recognize that ministry is messy and mysterious. And we may not know the fullness of our efforts this side of glory. But we continue to plant seeds and water them, trusting that God will indeed bring the growth.