What is MY Ministry?

There are two ways to look at ministry. My personal and individual ministry, and the ministry that I commit myself to. My personal ministry is what I do to spread my faith. My personal ministry is putting into action what I say I believe. It can happen anywhere, in any setting. Anywhere I go, my ministry goes with me. As I said in my last blog, I believe ministry as a whole is done most effectively in community, however, that ministry extends to every individual in that community, everywhere that individual goes, and everything they do. The ministry you commit to is a place for you to serve, a place where you spend time investing in people. A place where you serve side by side other followers of Jesus to do His work. 

My personal ministry is to be the hands and feet of Jesus, extended. I want to love people as He did. Serve as He did. Live as He did. I want to take the truth of His word and reach people who need to know Him wherever I go. I want people to see His reflection in me. I want people to know without a shadow of a doubt, who it is that I serve, and through me, to see His love for them. This is the ministry that does not change. No matter what I do, or where life takes me, this ministry will always be MY ministry. 

The ministry I have committed to is Youth ministry. I love seeing students discover Jesus...His love, and His mission for their lives. Not every student I minister to will get it, and I know this, but the ones who do...The ones who do make absolutely everything worth it. To prevent even just one student from falling for the lies Satan constantly feeds them, and having that student be a light amongst their peers, their family, and their world, is why I do this. Youth have such a powerful influence on the world, wether good or bad, that influence is and always will be there. I want to help shape a generation of youth that use that influence for Jesus. I want to help influence and train a generation of world changers. People so on fire for Christ that Satan trembles when he sees them coming. I want to equip students who will not back down from their faith, who are so passionate about Jesus that nothing can sway them no matter what. I want them to stand before God and hear "well done, good and faithful servant". I want their lives to be a map to the one who created them. This is the ministry I have committed to and this is MY ministry. 

What is Ministry?

    Our first journal assignment is to answer the question, "What is ministry?". I did a google search on the word "ministry" to see what the first thing to come up was...
     ~ Ministry (collective executive); the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a   prime minister.                                           
I thought this definition was interesting because even though it doesn't say it, it very closely resembles the Christian's relationship to God, our "Prime Minister". The idea of ministry, in my opinion, is brothers and sisters in Christ coming together for a common purpose; to serve the Father by reaching His people, and doing this by showing the world His love. 
     Ministry is what we as followers of Christ are called to do. Now, that ministry may look different for every person and may target different people groups. While some are called to reach kids, others are called to reach foreign nations, while others are called to reach students, while still others may be called to reach young married couples and their families. The list of people to minister to is endless. You can subdivide types of people into countless different "ministry target groups", based on interests, backgrounds, age, gender, location, etc. The bottom line is, ministry is serving God by reaching people. 
    It is also my opinion that ministry is best done in community. Jesus put great emphasis on community in his time here on earth. He traveled and lived life with a group of disciples, community. Matthew 18:20 says, "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." There is power when believers come together for the united purpose of worshipping and serving the Creator. When in community, we encourage and celebrate each other, we complement each other's weaknesses, we offer much more as a whole than we do individually. Ministry done in community is effective because it offers not only answers to questions for unbelievers, but a place to find rest, a place to find acceptance and relationships, something all human beings crave. Ministry done in community not only considers how to reach people, but how to grow them as believers once they have been reached. 
    Ministry as a community is a powerful thing that God designed for us. When I consider ministry, I cannot fathom it without community. So for my first journal entry, long answer summed up...
    Ministry is the act of serving, loving, and reaching people around us, telling them about what their Savior did for them because He loves them, and doing this through community. 

Summer Internship!

So this summer I am an intern at River City Community Church...my church :) I am extremely excited about this opportunity to learn whatever I can, serve in whatever way I'm needed, and love everyone I come into contact with! I have 4 fellow interns...lots of us this year! One of them is my fiance, Jonathan Shepherd, and the other 3 are some awesome students from Bethel college in Indiana! We spent today getting to know each other and going through orientation with Jason Powers, our beloved intern coordinator. This summer is going to be incredibly busy but incredibly awesome! Jonathan and myself are also taking a full load of college courses online this summer so we are gunna be busier than ever, but I am  so looking forward to what God is going to do! I will be posting weekly about what is going on at the church and in the youth as well as doing weekly "journal" assignments given to us by Jason. I hope that this will be enough to keep everyone posted on what's happening with me and with River City this summer!