What is Ministry?

"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;

and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;

and there are varieties of activities,

but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone." (1 Corinthians 12:4-6, ESV)

Our definition of ministry comes from a history of Biblical examples that is summarized nicely by Paul in this verse.  Ministry in the Greek B'rit Chadashah (i.e., New Covenant) means essentially "service."  The Hebraic-minded roots of 'ministry' refer to the service of the Levites in the Tabernacle (see examples such as in Philippians 2:17 and Luke 1:23); these men served as a means for Israel to communicate with the Lord.  Their service entailed a variety of functions such as worship (ministry to God) and sacrifice (ministry for Israel) , along with other duties as Israel developed into a nation. Today, however, all believers in Messiah are priests, both Jews (1st Peter 2:9) and Gentiles (Revelation 5:9-10), man and female alike.

Ministry Defined

What is ministry?  In the passage above, "gifts," "service" and "activities" are all the same thing (see Messianic Fundamentals Module #11, "Spiritual Gifts" for more information) ... and in summary, this is ministry.  Ministry is God placing us into service, and this ministry/service can take place anywhere.  Service can take many forms; service to God (i.e. Worship), service to Believers in Messiah (i.e., discipleship), and service to the World (i.e., mercy, outreach).

 Perhaps the best way to see what ministry is occurs by looking at the words of the Messiah Himself: " ... the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.' (Matthew 20:28)

Varieties of Ministries ...

The links on the left are a growing list of ministries currently active at Ben David.  If you don't see a ministry that should be there, perhaps the Lord is calling you for this very purpose.