In this thread we will examine the difference between church and ministry, two things which are often confused, to the detriment of the Body of Christ and God's work on the Earth.
Firstly what is the church? The church, "ekklesia" in Greek, is literally the "called out" , which is an assembly but more than just an assembly. It is a peaceful legislative assembly made up of citizens, which is called out to stand against the worldly oppressive regimes and governments. Wherever such a group of people made an assembly, there was the church. The church was started by Christ to change the hearts and minds of men in whatever region they dwelt, and specifically to bring them under the rule and reign of Christ, otherwise known as the Kingdom of God.
Each church was not to be a rabble, it required an authority structure - the apostles appointed elders, to oversee the function of the particular churches (Acts 14:23).Note that these elders may have been quite young, and may have been saved only 2 or 3 years. Whoever the apostles chose, was guided by their maturity in years relative to the other believers in the assembly, and ultimately the Holy Spirit.
In the Bible the church is simply the assembled plurality of believers in a specific location. For example, if there are a group of believers meeting in Ephesus, that is the Ephesian church. If there is a group of believers in Rome, that is the church in Rome. The church is identified by where they normally meet, not by their beliefs, creed, ministers, or any other such matters. At this time there is no concept of being divided according to organizational structure, belief system, founder, race, language, sexual preference or any other matter. It is simply "the church".
The Bible says that every person in the church has been given a particular spiritual gifting, which is a manifestation of THE gift, the Holy Spirit:
1 Cor 12:7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
A non-exhaustive list of the spiritual gifts is given in 1 Corinthians 12.
The purpose of the spiritual gifts are for building up the Body of Christ and are primarily directed towards believers, rather than unbelievers (1 Cor 14:22).
1 Cor 14:12 So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.
The Ministers
Now we will look at who are the ministers? The word for ministry comes from the word "to serve, e.g. as a slave". Ministry involves ministering both spiritual and practical things to others.
Firstly it should be noted that every person in church has a ministry as long as they have spiritual gifts, which is as long as they have the Holy Spirit. It doesn't matter if we work in a secular job 60 hours a week, we still have a ministry.
Secondly, for the purpose of equipping God's people in ministry, God has given particularly gifted individuals as gifts to the church:
Eph 4:11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,
Thirdly, the purpose of these ministers is to equip the church for good works, to build up the body of Christ, to reach unity, maturity, and greater knowledge of Jesus Christ:
Eph 4:11-13
11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
As it says in Eph 4:12, the purpose of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, the 5-fold ministers, is not to stand up the front of church and lead services, it is not to do all the work under ones own name such as "John Doe ministries" - the purpose of these people is to equip the rest of us, the church, to do the work.
These 5-fold ministers are not self-appointed or necessarily theologically trained, but equipped and called out by God to serve Him in this function:
Eph 3:7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
According to God's plan, it is the church which should do most of the work in converting sinners and edifying other members, not the 5-fold ministers. The 5-fold ministers were only to oversee, train, mentor and assist.
The Difference between Church and Ministry
According to today's Christianity, it is possible to have a church yet not have a ministry, or to have a ministry yet not have a church. Also there is much confusion - often, what is a church is called a ministry, and what is a ministry is called a church. However in the Bible and according to the truth, it is absolutely impossible to have church without ministry, or have ministry without church. Ministry is for the church, and church is for the ministry.
1. The Ministry is for the Church
As stated by Ephesians 4, a goal of a minister of Christ is unity, not division. A true minister of Christ, does not cause division in the Body of Christ. A person who sets up a new church or denomination in their own name, is not a true minister becaues they have just caused another division. And a group of people that meets under the name of "John Doe Ministries", is not a church, but a ministry meeting - a church has no identity other than the location of where it resides (Corinth, Ephesus, Rome, Jerusalem, Phillipi, etc).
As also stated by Ephesians 4, a goal of a minister of Christ, is Christ. The goal of a true minister of Christ, is to enable others know Christ even more, and for them to grow unto maturity, even to the "whole measure of the fullness of Christ". The goal of a minister is not salvations, healings, miracles, etc, but Christ. Every minister therefore really has the same ministry - Christ. In God's plan there is really no such thing as a healing ministry, a worship ministry, or an evangelical ministry.
Often in today's Christianity, we see ministers equipping others to minister in their own ministry, or simply to provide a service to those who attend, rather than to equip others to minister in the church. Instead of this, church is supposed to be like the "home base", and the ministry is to be like the wandering pilgrim. Sometimes the wanderers gather such a large following and create a "home base" for themselves, that they exceed the number of people in the actual church. And then they decide to call it a "church", bearing the name of the founder. However this is not a genuine church, and neither is it a genuine ministry. There is no example in the Bible of any of the apostles, Paul, Peter, or James, doing this. As revealed by 1 Corinthians 4, the life of an apostle was hard and perhaps even lonesome, with normally a few helpers and co-workers such as Timothy and Silas, and sometimes with and sometimes without, the support of the churches. A genuine minister of Christ does not set up meetings in their own name and call it a church. Neither do they have any other goal than to equip others to minister in the church by ministering the things of Christ to them. A genuine minister will equip others so these may properly minister in church.
The life of the apostle Paul is one of the greatest examples in the Bible of a genuine minister of Christ. The apostle Paul did not lead a church on a day to day basis - this responsibility was left to the appointed elders in the particular region that they lived. The apostle Paul was a wanderer, a traveller, he came and went from place to place, ministering and equipping the believers in whichever place he went. His ministry was for the church, but his ministry was not in a church. The apostle Paul did not gather to Himself a following, a group, and call it "his church". Paul knew that God's desire was to have an assembly in each location, "church", and that his ministry was to aid those assemblies to function, not to replace them or their function.
Whenever the apostle wrote to the elders of a church, it was up to the elders to implement Paul's instructions, not Paul. Paul did not overstep his bounds as a 5-fold minister, and did not function as a kind of "Pope" over the churches. That the church bore the burden of most of the administration and work should be obvious - the apostles and others of the 5-fold ministry, frequently found themselves in chains or travelling, therefore the churches must have bore the day to day burden of the work and ministry.
2. The Church is for the Ministry
In the previous section we examined how the ministry is for the church. Now we examine how the church is for the ministry.
According to the Bible, a 5-fold minister is not a lone ranger, but may be supported by the churches (1 Corinthians 9, 2 Corinthians 9). At the same time, the churches are under no obligation to do so. Some churches helped Paul, yet other churches did not:
2 Tim 1:15-18
15 You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.
16 May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. 17 On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. 18 May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.
That Paul was rejected by some churches and supported by others, proves that Paul was not a Pope-like figure ruling over the churches, and that Paul's ministry was for the church but not in a church. He had a ministry from God that the churches, led by the elders, could accept or reject. A church may give material and spiritual support for a wandering 5-fold minister, often in the way of accommodation, prayer, fellowship, transport, food or money of the apostles and their co-workers themselves, and also in accommodating any new believers that have come to Christ due to the ministry. Without the churches, the work of the 5-fold ministry could not happen effectively.
The Consequences of Not Doing Things God's Way
The consequences of not doing things according to God's plan and wisdom, is ineffective and inefficient ministry, immature churches, and wasted time and effort, and ultimately, to delay the Lord's return.
If a minister does not minister for the church, but only for themselves and for the sake of the individuals who attend their ministry, then those who are saved or impacted through their ministry will nevertheless become wanderers like the ministers themselves. Additionally, the minister will face being burdened by all the work rather than letting the churches handle it. It is common for a person to be saved through a certain ministry, yet find themselves wandering around with no church home and no church family. If ministers realized that their ministry was for the church, then those saved and helped through their ministry could be properly discipled and edified in and by the local churches. Imagine if the apostle Paul was burdened to meet the spiritual needs of all those who were saved by his preaching? Then Paul would not have been able to travel freely, and when jailed, his church would likely have disintegrated. Instead, those who were saved through Paul's message, became part of and were taken care of, the local church.
The consequences of a church not accepting the ministry of the 5-fold, is that this church will not grow and will probably become divided. The goal of the 5-fold ministry is unity, edification, and growth, and greater knowledge of Jesus Christ. Where a church does not accept a minister, that church will often not grow unto maturity. Additionally, a church which does not support the ministry, and worse, actively damages and speaks evil of a ministry, will fail to reap a blessing from God.
In summary, there is a clear difference between church and ministry and yet the two are dependant upon each other. Church is not to replace ministry and ministry is not to replace church. If such a situation arises, it will have a negative effect on both the ministry and church alike.
Firstly what is the church? The church, "ekklesia" in Greek, is literally the "called out" , which is an assembly but more than just an assembly. It is a peaceful legislative assembly made up of citizens, which is called out to stand against the worldly oppressive regimes and governments. Wherever such a group of people made an assembly, there was the church. The church was started by Christ to change the hearts and minds of men in whatever region they dwelt, and specifically to bring them under the rule and reign of Christ, otherwise known as the Kingdom of God.
Each church was not to be a rabble, it required an authority structure - the apostles appointed elders, to oversee the function of the particular churches (Acts 14:23).Note that these elders may have been quite young, and may have been saved only 2 or 3 years. Whoever the apostles chose, was guided by their maturity in years relative to the other believers in the assembly, and ultimately the Holy Spirit.
In the Bible the church is simply the assembled plurality of believers in a specific location. For example, if there are a group of believers meeting in Ephesus, that is the Ephesian church. If there is a group of believers in Rome, that is the church in Rome. The church is identified by where they normally meet, not by their beliefs, creed, ministers, or any other such matters. At this time there is no concept of being divided according to organizational structure, belief system, founder, race, language, sexual preference or any other matter. It is simply "the church".
The Bible says that every person in the church has been given a particular spiritual gifting, which is a manifestation of THE gift, the Holy Spirit:
1 Cor 12:7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
A non-exhaustive list of the spiritual gifts is given in 1 Corinthians 12.
The purpose of the spiritual gifts are for building up the Body of Christ and are primarily directed towards believers, rather than unbelievers (1 Cor 14:22).
1 Cor 14:12 So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.
The Ministers
Now we will look at who are the ministers? The word for ministry comes from the word "to serve, e.g. as a slave". Ministry involves ministering both spiritual and practical things to others.
Firstly it should be noted that every person in church has a ministry as long as they have spiritual gifts, which is as long as they have the Holy Spirit. It doesn't matter if we work in a secular job 60 hours a week, we still have a ministry.
Secondly, for the purpose of equipping God's people in ministry, God has given particularly gifted individuals as gifts to the church:
Eph 4:11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,
Thirdly, the purpose of these ministers is to equip the church for good works, to build up the body of Christ, to reach unity, maturity, and greater knowledge of Jesus Christ:
Eph 4:11-13
11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
As it says in Eph 4:12, the purpose of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, the 5-fold ministers, is not to stand up the front of church and lead services, it is not to do all the work under ones own name such as "John Doe ministries" - the purpose of these people is to equip the rest of us, the church, to do the work.
These 5-fold ministers are not self-appointed or necessarily theologically trained, but equipped and called out by God to serve Him in this function:
Eph 3:7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
According to God's plan, it is the church which should do most of the work in converting sinners and edifying other members, not the 5-fold ministers. The 5-fold ministers were only to oversee, train, mentor and assist.
The Difference between Church and Ministry
According to today's Christianity, it is possible to have a church yet not have a ministry, or to have a ministry yet not have a church. Also there is much confusion - often, what is a church is called a ministry, and what is a ministry is called a church. However in the Bible and according to the truth, it is absolutely impossible to have church without ministry, or have ministry without church. Ministry is for the church, and church is for the ministry.
1. The Ministry is for the Church
As stated by Ephesians 4, a goal of a minister of Christ is unity, not division. A true minister of Christ, does not cause division in the Body of Christ. A person who sets up a new church or denomination in their own name, is not a true minister becaues they have just caused another division. And a group of people that meets under the name of "John Doe Ministries", is not a church, but a ministry meeting - a church has no identity other than the location of where it resides (Corinth, Ephesus, Rome, Jerusalem, Phillipi, etc).
As also stated by Ephesians 4, a goal of a minister of Christ, is Christ. The goal of a true minister of Christ, is to enable others know Christ even more, and for them to grow unto maturity, even to the "whole measure of the fullness of Christ". The goal of a minister is not salvations, healings, miracles, etc, but Christ. Every minister therefore really has the same ministry - Christ. In God's plan there is really no such thing as a healing ministry, a worship ministry, or an evangelical ministry.
Often in today's Christianity, we see ministers equipping others to minister in their own ministry, or simply to provide a service to those who attend, rather than to equip others to minister in the church. Instead of this, church is supposed to be like the "home base", and the ministry is to be like the wandering pilgrim. Sometimes the wanderers gather such a large following and create a "home base" for themselves, that they exceed the number of people in the actual church. And then they decide to call it a "church", bearing the name of the founder. However this is not a genuine church, and neither is it a genuine ministry. There is no example in the Bible of any of the apostles, Paul, Peter, or James, doing this. As revealed by 1 Corinthians 4, the life of an apostle was hard and perhaps even lonesome, with normally a few helpers and co-workers such as Timothy and Silas, and sometimes with and sometimes without, the support of the churches. A genuine minister of Christ does not set up meetings in their own name and call it a church. Neither do they have any other goal than to equip others to minister in the church by ministering the things of Christ to them. A genuine minister will equip others so these may properly minister in church.
The life of the apostle Paul is one of the greatest examples in the Bible of a genuine minister of Christ. The apostle Paul did not lead a church on a day to day basis - this responsibility was left to the appointed elders in the particular region that they lived. The apostle Paul was a wanderer, a traveller, he came and went from place to place, ministering and equipping the believers in whichever place he went. His ministry was for the church, but his ministry was not in a church. The apostle Paul did not gather to Himself a following, a group, and call it "his church". Paul knew that God's desire was to have an assembly in each location, "church", and that his ministry was to aid those assemblies to function, not to replace them or their function.
Whenever the apostle wrote to the elders of a church, it was up to the elders to implement Paul's instructions, not Paul. Paul did not overstep his bounds as a 5-fold minister, and did not function as a kind of "Pope" over the churches. That the church bore the burden of most of the administration and work should be obvious - the apostles and others of the 5-fold ministry, frequently found themselves in chains or travelling, therefore the churches must have bore the day to day burden of the work and ministry.
2. The Church is for the Ministry
In the previous section we examined how the ministry is for the church. Now we examine how the church is for the ministry.
According to the Bible, a 5-fold minister is not a lone ranger, but may be supported by the churches (1 Corinthians 9, 2 Corinthians 9). At the same time, the churches are under no obligation to do so. Some churches helped Paul, yet other churches did not:
2 Tim 1:15-18
15 You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.
16 May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. 17 On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. 18 May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.
That Paul was rejected by some churches and supported by others, proves that Paul was not a Pope-like figure ruling over the churches, and that Paul's ministry was for the church but not in a church. He had a ministry from God that the churches, led by the elders, could accept or reject. A church may give material and spiritual support for a wandering 5-fold minister, often in the way of accommodation, prayer, fellowship, transport, food or money of the apostles and their co-workers themselves, and also in accommodating any new believers that have come to Christ due to the ministry. Without the churches, the work of the 5-fold ministry could not happen effectively.
The Consequences of Not Doing Things God's Way
The consequences of not doing things according to God's plan and wisdom, is ineffective and inefficient ministry, immature churches, and wasted time and effort, and ultimately, to delay the Lord's return.
If a minister does not minister for the church, but only for themselves and for the sake of the individuals who attend their ministry, then those who are saved or impacted through their ministry will nevertheless become wanderers like the ministers themselves. Additionally, the minister will face being burdened by all the work rather than letting the churches handle it. It is common for a person to be saved through a certain ministry, yet find themselves wandering around with no church home and no church family. If ministers realized that their ministry was for the church, then those saved and helped through their ministry could be properly discipled and edified in and by the local churches. Imagine if the apostle Paul was burdened to meet the spiritual needs of all those who were saved by his preaching? Then Paul would not have been able to travel freely, and when jailed, his church would likely have disintegrated. Instead, those who were saved through Paul's message, became part of and were taken care of, the local church.
The consequences of a church not accepting the ministry of the 5-fold, is that this church will not grow and will probably become divided. The goal of the 5-fold ministry is unity, edification, and growth, and greater knowledge of Jesus Christ. Where a church does not accept a minister, that church will often not grow unto maturity. Additionally, a church which does not support the ministry, and worse, actively damages and speaks evil of a ministry, will fail to reap a blessing from God.
In summary, there is a clear difference between church and ministry and yet the two are dependant upon each other. Church is not to replace ministry and ministry is not to replace church. If such a situation arises, it will have a negative effect on both the ministry and church alike.
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