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.