Church Ministry & Service

The first rule of good writing is "show, don't tell." Don't just explain; illustrate your points. The same applies to good living. We can talk all we want about doing the right thing but our words are meaningless unless we're actually doing it.

The Church has two main purposes: to bring people to Christ and to care for the covenant community (Eph. 4:11-13). Both of these are designed to bring glory to God. By spreading the good news of Christ our King and by living together in love and peace, Christians point the world toward God. If we keep mostly to ourselves, however, and bicker and fight, no one will believe us when we say the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. If we want people to pay attention, we need to demonstrate (James 1:22-25).

Ministry isn't elaborate. It's simple. You don't have to be a pastor to minister. Ministry is simply caring for people's needs. Parents dedicated to raising godly children are ministering to their children; someone who gives extra food to people who don't have enough is ministering to the hungry. When we preach the Gospel to unbelievers we minister to them. As members of the Body of Christ we have an obligation first to our brothers and sisters (James 2:15-17), to make sure they have what they need physically and spiritually. But this doesn't mean our duty to unbelievers is lessened—the Church can't afford to serve itself and neglect the world, or vice versa. To be healthy it must look to itself and the world simultaneously.

The Church finds its strength and impetus for ministry in the Holy Spirit (John 16:7-8). This makes our ministry supernatural; we aren't just humans trying to make a difference; we're humans working through God's power. It's easy to think nothing we can do will be worthwhile. It's easy to go to rallies and seminars and get excited about ministry and then do nothing. It's easy to feel bad about not doing anything and then feel good about feeling bad. But true ministry isn't just about doing. True ministry begins when we rest in the knowledge that anything we do for Christ is the direct result of His love and care for us (Eph. 2:10). We don't minister out of a grim sense of duty or to collect points, we minister out of love for Christ.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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Church Ministry & Service
51 Items found Print
Agape Leadership
by Robert L. Peterson and Alexander Strauch
from Lewis and Roth Publishers
for Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Am I Called?
by Dave Harvey
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
Approved Unto God with Facing Reality
by Oswald Chambers
from Discovery House Publishers
for Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Authentic Ministry
by Michael Reeves
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
Christian Leader's Guide to Leading with Love
by Alexander Strauch
from Lewis and Roth Publishers
for Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Church Planting Is For: Wimps
by Mike McKinley
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Community
Re:Lit Books
by Brad House
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Discipleship & Community (Location: XCL-DIS)
$13.59 $3.60 (3 in stock)
Crisis, Opportunity, and the Christian Future
by James Jordan
1st edition from Athanasius Press
in Ecclesiology (Location: XTH-ECC)
$5.10
Critique of Modern Youth Ministry
by Chris Schlect
2nd edition from Canon Press
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
$7.00 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Dangerous Calling
by Paul David Tripp
1st edition from Crossway Books
for 11th-Adult
in Church Government (Location: XWO-GOV)
$22.99 $9.50 (2 in stock)
Discipling
by Mark Dever
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
$6.50 (2 in stock)
Elder and His Work
by David Dickson
from P&R Publishing
for Adult
in Church Government (Location: XWO-GOV)
$8.50
Emergence of Liberty in the Modern World
by Douglas Kelly
from P&R Publishing
in Government & Civics Resources (Location: GOV-REF)
Fit Bodies, Fat Minds
by Os Guinness
from Baker Books
for Adult
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
$2.70 (1 in stock)
Giving Wisely?
by Jonathan Martin
2nd edition
for 12th-Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$3.00 (4 in stock)
Gospel
9marks: Buliding Healthy Churches
by Ray Ortlund, Foreword by J.I. Packer
1st edition from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Church Government (Location: XWO-GOV)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Hipster Christianity
by Brett McCracken
from Baker Books
for 9th-Adult
in Ecclesiology (Location: XTH-ECC)
$13.59 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Hole in Our Gospel
by Richard Stearns
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Hole in Our Gospel
by Richard Stearns
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
$3.50 (3 in stock)
I Suffer Not a Woman
by Catherine Clark Kroeger, Richard Clark Kroeger
from Baker Books
for Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
I Will!
by Thom S. Rainer
from B&H Books
for Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
$5.00 (3 in stock)
In His Service
by R. J. Rushdoony
from Chalcedon / Ross House Books
for Adult
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
$19.55
In the Shadow of Plenty
by George Grant
2nd edition from Christian Liberty Press
for 11th-Adult
in Christianity and the State (Location: XWV-STA)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Kingdom and the Power
by Peter Leithart
from P&R Publishing
in Biblical Theology (Location: XTH-BIB)
$9.50
Law of Kindness
by Mary Beeke
from Reformation Heritage Books
for 10th-Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Life in the Father's House
by Wayne A. Mack, David Swavely
from P&R Publishing
for Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$3.00 (3 in stock)
Life Together
by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
from HarperOne
for Adult
in Discipleship & Community (Location: XCL-DIS)
$12.74
Living Church
by John Stott
from InterVarsity Press
for Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
$10.00
Master's Perspective on Pastoral Ministry
by Richard L. Mayhue, Robert L. Thomas, eds.
from Kregel Publications
for Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Minister's Treasury of Funeral & Memorial Passages
by Jim Henry
from Broadman & Holman
for Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
Ministries of Mercy
by Tim Keller
3rd edition from P&R Publishing
for Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
$14.44
New Testament Deacon
by Alexander Strauch
from Lewis and Roth Publishers
for Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
$15.95
On Guard
by Deepak Keju
from New Growth Press
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
$14.00
Peace Making Pastor
by Alfred Poirier
from Baker Books
for Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Preaching with Purpose
by Jay E. Adams
from Zondervan
for Adult
in Preaching the Word (Location: XWO-PRE)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
Prodigal Church
by Jared Wilson
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Ecclesiology (Location: XTH-ECC)
$13.59
Running on Empty
by Barbara Bancroft
from New Growth Press
for Adult
in Christian Counseling (Location: XCL-COU)
$15.00
Safely Home
by Tom Eldredge
from Vision Forum
for Adult
in Clearance: Home School Resources (Location: ZCLE-HSR)
$4.00
Same Lake, Different Boat
by Stephanie O. Hubach
from P&R Publishing
for Adult
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Shepherding God's Flock
The Jay Adams Library
by Jay Adams
from Zondervan
in Christian Counseling (Location: XCL-COU)
$21.24
Surprised by Hope
by N. T. Wright
from HarperOne
for 9th-Adult
in Eschatology & Prophecy (Location: XTH-ESCH)
$21.24
Toxic Charity
by Robert D. Lupton
9.2.2012 from HarperOne
for 11th-Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
$11.50
True Companion
by Nancy Wilson
from Canon Press
for Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
Twelve Challenges Churches Face
by Mark Dever
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$15.99
Uniting Church and Home
by Eric Wallace
from Solutions for Integrating Church & Home
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$5.00 (4 in stock)
Welfare Reformed
by David W. Hall, ed.
from P&R Publishing
for Adult
in Christianity and the State (Location: XWV-STA)
$1.80 (1 in stock)
What Is Mercy Ministry?
by Noah J. Toly, Philip Graham Ryken
from P&R Publishing
for Adult
in Basics of the Faith (Location: XNC-BAS)
$4.24
What Is Your Church's Personality?
by Philip D. Douglass
from P&R Publishing
for Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Why Ministers Must Be Men
by Douglas Wilson
from Athanasius Press
for Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
$7.95
Women in Ministry
by Robert & Bonnidell Clouse, editors
from InterVarsity Press
for Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$14.00
Women's Ministry in the Local Church
by J. Ligon Duncan, Susan Hunt
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$11.00