When Your Presence is a Ministry - A guest post from @KelliWommack

Photo By Kelli Wommack

When Your Presence is a Ministry 

ByKelli Wommack 

In my role as SERVE minister at Christ Community Church, I have the awesome privilege and responsibility of helping people find their unique ministry within our church and ultimately the Kingdom of God. I explain in classes and in consultations that every Christian has a ministry. Just like our human body, the body of Christ is made up of many parts and each part is necessary for the Body to function properly.

One day, after our church services, a woman walked up to me. This gentle-spirited woman had been through our classes. I had met with her about a year ago and together we discussed how God had created her with certain gifts, talents, and experiences along with a vibrant personality and passion. I had given her several suggestions for ministry placement. She served a trial run in a couple of those ministries and after a time, found that she was still struggling with direction. I told her to continue to pray that God would show her where and how He wanted her to serve.

So, the day she approached me after the service, I noticed that she had a big smile and a feeling of contentment. She said, “I think I have discovered my ministry. But I don ‘t know what to call it. I don’t think there is actually a name for it.”  I was not bothered by the idea of a nameless ministry, but very curious to hear about it. She began to tell me that she had observed when she was most fulfilled, and most fruitful. She felt that her greatest ministry was “just being with people – just listening to them, praying for them, fellowshipping with them, just BEING with them.” I totally agreed with her assessment because I had been one to benefit from this “nameless” ministry of hers. And then I said, “There is actually a name for that...” She was bewildered. “Really?” I replied, “Yes, it is called the MINISTRY OF PRESENCE.”

In the U.S., we have so disciplined ourselves to be taskmasters -- to do, and to check off lists. And sometimes, in fact, many times, God is not calling us to 'do' anything. He is calling us to 'be' there for people. I am much more aware of this when I have traveled to other countries on mission trips. Yes, I may be there to teach at a conference, or to help with an evangelism effort. But when there is nothing on the schedule, there is still something on the schedule. That something is just being with the people – listening to their stories, talking with them, and praying with them.

Do you have people around you that need your 'ministry of presence?' Maybe it is your spouse, your children, your co-worker, or your neighbor? We don’t have to have a task to complete in order to minister to others. Let’s be present and in the moment. Undistracted. Completely focused...on them. Let’s minister with our presence.

Kelli Wommack  Bio info 

Kelli is a motivational speaker, writer, and blogger and loves seeing people reach their full potential in Christ. In her role as Serve Minister at Christ Community Church in Georgia, she has the awesome privilege of rallying others to find their unique place of ministry. Her favorite home team includes her loving, funny, yet quiet husband, and her two loving, funny, and not so quiet children. Connect with Kelli:

Facebook:

Kelli Wommack Ministry Page

Twitter:

KelliWommack

Website

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