Definition:

Ministry is a stewardship of the gifts and direction God gives a believer. At the heart of ministry is service to others for this life and the next. Ministry is the expression of the life of Christ in the context in which a believer is living. The moment people follow Christ they enter into ministry. It is the responsibility of every believer to entrust and equip one another for ministry. Leaders of the flock are especially called to entrust and equip others to use their gifts, to help them hear the voice of God, and to understand and use the gifting that the Holy Spirit has given to them. Entrusting in the setting of a local church means to build up the body of Christ by giving encouragement for service, telling truth to counter lies, strengthening weaknesses, and clarifying direction. As a result, believers come to know and do God’s purpose and direction in their lives. Equipping in the setting of a local church means developing the character, skills, and knowledge each saint needs to walk in the way God calls.

Characteristics:

Be:

  • Servant
  • Teachable
  • Personal integrity
  • Sensitive to needs
  • A model to others

Know:

  • Identify spiritual gifts
  • Strategies and methods
  • Know the community and its needs

Do:

  • Share a clear testimony
  • Plan events for outreach
  • Trust others to serve
  • Connect people to opportunities for service

Outcomes:

  1. Demonstrate Christlike servanthood through a ministry activity. MIN-1
  2. Explain the essence of Christian ministry and how the Biblical theology of stewardship, spiritual gifts, and the Body of Christ applies to ministry activities. MIN-2
  3. Formulate a theological rationale for leading a missional church. MIN-3
  4. Compare and contrast ministry practices from a Wesleyan theological perspective with those of one other Christian theology. MIN-4
  5. List several and then implement one approach to Christian education developed in the last thirty years which is consistent with good theology, psychology and sociology. MIN-5
  6. Demonstrate how to equip at least one person to implement the gifting God has given them in both the local congregation and their daily life context. MIN-6
  7. Compare and contrast the cultural background and the understanding of the universe presented in the Old Testament with the local culture, in the context of ministry and evangelism. Compare and contrast different ministry practices used by local congregations in different cultural contexts. MIN-7
  8. Tell historical stories of how ministry has changed in the history of the church or locally in a contextual way to the community and church and make local application. MIN-8
  9. Identify and model how to use spiritual gifts and natural abilities in a ministry context. MIN-9