We all have a ministry from God.
In fact, you’re in full-time ministry right now. So…how are you doing? What are you doing? Who are you reaching?
One of the things I try to emphasize at church is that everyone should be self-consciously serving God in their lives. Not everyone has a visible ministry on Sunday mornings. You might not be the pastor, worship leader, or deacon. But your ministry is visible to someone during the week—to the different neighbors you meet in their different vocations as parents, children, co-workers, bosses, employees, citizens, and so on.
You are ministering to people every day, whether you know it or not.
So what is your ministry?
This week a friend shared a blog post called I Went to a Strip Club with a Pastor’s Wife. It is a good read. It demonstrates that it is possible for ordinary Christians, doing simple things, to reach the unreachable with God’s love.
Long story short, the author was pregnant at the time, and she went with a group of Christian women to visit strip clubs to offer gift baskets and food for the dancers. They were allowed in. The author was surprised to learn these women were just…women. Women with a terrible job, but otherwise…just normal people. After consistently going to the clubs—and showing their genuine goodwill to the dancers—they were slowly accepted by the dancers. The women got permission to set up a prayer box. Eventually, they started a Bible study! All within the strip club!
In a truly heart-breaking moment, one of the dancers said the women were not like the other churches. Why not? “Apparently other churches send them hate mail. ALL THE TIME.”
Hate mail!
What about sending grace mail?
I don’t know about you, but I would have thought it was impossible to reach strippers inside a strip club. I would have thought it would be impossible to do ministry in there.
But these women did it. They were already neighbors to these dancers. They just decided to be loving neighbors.
A gift basket. Some food. Prayer. Treating the dancers like human beings whom God and Jesus love.
Who can’t do that?
Who can’t show that kind of gracious, loving, kindness?
That doesn’t take a special talent.
God has prepared good works for you to do:
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Eph 2:10)
Are there any unreachable or untouchable people around you?
Is there a group of marginalized people that other churches inundate with hate mail?
You might think it’s impossible to reach them with the message of grace. But remember, God once opened prison doors to let Peter out. He can just as easily open them to let grace in.
