Church Leaders
How to have a ministry
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And [Christ] himself gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ
Ephesians 4:11-12 (NET)
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Ok, a little bit of a soapbox:
One beef I have with the Americanized version of Christianity is the expectation that the ministry leaders do all the ministry. After all, that’s why they’re being paid, right?
(Certainly not everyone thinks this way, but enough do that it irks me).
Anyway, that viewpoint flies in the face of these verses.
Reality?
Ministry leaders are called to equip the rest of us for the mission.
Everyone is expected to participate in the Kingdom work. Yes. It takes all of us. We are a cohesive Body of Christ.
One of the reasons I’m such a big fan of the simplicity of the Gospel — and its application — is that complicated things are too hard to execute. If I have to spend lots of creative energy & time figuring out how to do ministry, what will be left to actually do it?
Simple is better.
My mentor, Mike Story, taught me how to impact people in a one-on-one setting. He did it by practicing simple principles:
Met with me regularly.
Checked our memorized verses together.
Talked about life.
Always prayed together.
That’s it.
4 simple pieces to every meeting that taught me how to minister to people.
What about the details?
Spend time with God every day. Pray for your people. Dig deep into the Word. Trust God with the rest.
After all, we’re not ministering solo here … it’s a partnership.
— Ricky Ketchum
Copyright © 2025 by Ricky Ketchum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
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