Did you know that you’re a minister of the Gospel? I bet you’re thinking, “I didn’t go to seminary, I’ve never even been discipled, I’m not a mature enough Christian, or God hasn’t called me to be a minister, so how can this be true?” These thoughts run rampant in many believers’ minds and feed one of the biggest misconceptions in the church—that the only minister is the pastor, but nothing could be further from the truth.
God has commanded every believer to spread the Gospel and make disciples (Matt. 28:18-20). Every Christ-follower is part of the royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:5-9), meaning you are a priest. Ephesians 4:11-12 says, “He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelist, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…” As we can see through the Word of God, the only distinction between pastors and other believers is one of function and gifting. Friends, a pastor is not any more important to God’s plan than you, his role is just different. Christian ministry is every member’s ministry and until we realize this, the body won’t function to its fullest potential. All believers are equally important to the healthy functioning of the church.
I bet you’re thinking, “OK, I’m a minister, but I still feel ill equipped.” Well, you aren’t! God has given believers the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-31; 1 Cor. 3:16, 6:19). Through the Spirit we have the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) to help us. Additionally, God has given every believer spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:7; 11; 1 Pet. 4:10) for the benefit of others. Lastly, we have the Word of God, which is the lamp to our feet and a light for our path.
Not only does God have a role for us, and not only has He given us the skills and attributes to accomplish the work, He also doesn’t leave us to work alone. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” We are all part of the body of Christ, and we function together to accomplish God’s purposes, with Christ as the head and each of us as a unique and distinct part of His body. So while the primary job of the pastor is to be an equipper, every member of the church is a minister who has a role to play to bring our heavily Father the glory He so richly deserves. So the question we all should be asking ourselves now is, “Are we fulfilling our role in the body of Christ as a minister?”
