Col 4:17 And say to Archippus, “Be sure to carry out the ministry the Lord gave you.” NLT
Do you know what I mean by ABC? ABC stands for: Attendance, Building and Cash. I have spoken to some persons whose idea of ministry is all about ABC. In this part of the world, I have heard ministers boast about attendance, the huge cathedral and how rich they are. Unconsciously, upcoming ministers now see that as what validates a genuine ministry. Some preachers are under pressure to increase attendance using gimmicks. They fake miracles knowing that once crowd comes, income will increase and they can build something gigantic.
Let me burst your bubble, signs and wonders isn't a validation for a true and genuine ministry. The devil's agents on the altar are performing miracles, seeing visions and doing exploits using satanic anointing. Some ministers are constantly doubting their calling because they aren't seeing 'results'. Some abandoned feeding the flock of God( which is their primary assignment) to look for "power" till they were introduced into occultism. Billy Graham shook the world with his evangelistic calling not because miracles were performed in his meetings but he was accorded the honour of having an impactful ministry in the similitude of Paul because he won many souls to Christ most of whom are still established in the faith. That miracle is greater than the blind seeing and lame walking. You are not in ministry for performance but as an agent of transforming people into Christlikeness.
Dear minister, ministry is not about ABC. The evidence of impactful ministry is transformed lives. Lives that have been transformed into the very image of Christ and heaven-bound. It is possible to have a crowded church of people going to hell. The edifice you're dying to build may become irrelevant even in your life time. Churches in Europe built great edifices some centuries ago but today, most of those cathedrals are empty. Some have been sold to mosques or converted to club houses. Why? The generation that built those cathedrals didn't build people who will continue to walk in the ways of the Lord. ABC is only good if it serves kingdom purpose and not for self aggrandizement but in itself, it not what ministry is all about.
Father, I receive the grace to get the right perspective about ministry and to fulfill my assignment in Jesus name.