Supporting Ministries

Appeals for support of ministries are abundant around us. The range of styles stretches from attempting to make us feel guilty that we are heartless with regard to the suffering of some beneficiaries of the work of a ministry to making us fearful that we will never be blessed again by God if we don’t give Him immediate proof that we trust Him by giving some ministry our last $1000, to genuine opportunities to invest in something that manifests His love and His Kingdom.

As we decide what to do, I suggest that we not look at needs. Jesus knew that there would always be poor people. He focused on Jews and frequently ignored Gentiles. After a night of prayer, He one morning seems to have left Peter’s home, where ministry had been effective and popular for a few days without even announcing that the meetings were over (Luke 4).

I suggest that we ask the Spirit where He wants us to invest what, and to consider the investment to be in the servants who are doing the work, not in the work. If someone asks you to invest in their work, look at the person. Make the investment in the person or the group who are doing the work.

This is a vision of the Body becoming real-ized. As we look at each other, and discern His Body (1 Corinthians 11), we connect in ways that our love for each other manifests Him and His work. Focusing on Him will not make us forget to serve Him. Focusing on serving Him can make us forget to focus on Him.