(Matthew 4:12)
I remember my father saying: "There's a right way, and a wrong way, and there's my way." Since my father was in authority, we did things his way.
What is the right path of ministry? In over forty years of pastoral ministry, I have seen, and participated in many programs of ministry. We can wonder if we are heading in the right direction, as we involve ourselves in several ministerial activities in the church.
But I don't feel that we can go wrong when we follow the path of ministry that Jesus set before us in the gospels. It was foretold in prophecy (Isaiah 9:1-2) that Jesus would begin His ministry in a place where there was great need. The regions of Zebulun, and Naphtali were afflicted and oppressed for years. Jesus began His ministry in a place that needed heaven's light of hope. That's what Jesus brought to this area, and to the world.
So what should this say to us as Christians today? The lesson is clear. We should focus our personal ministries on "meeting needs" If we focus on meeting needs, we will also have the opportunity to meet the greatest need that people have; and that is a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. In love we can bring the hope of Jesus to people who are sitting in the distress and darkness of their sin, and daily struggles.
And the message that Jesus brought with Him on His path of ministry was this: "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matthew 4:17) If lost souls will trun from their sin, and dis-belief, and turn to the Savior, they can experience the love, and eternal blessings, that God has for them. GP
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