Lately I’ve been pondering what ministry actually is. 

And I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ve had it wrong for many, many years. Ministry has evolved in my mind from something you do at a specific location, to a way of living life. A little less than a decade ago, we ministered to college age students in a downstairs basement room of our church for a few hours on Tuesday nights. We soon became threadbare as we attempted to balance home, work and church obligations.

We sought everywhere for the answer to our primary burning question: how do you balance it all?

These last couple of years we weren’t in a formal ministry position, but we were ministering.

Lunch on a Sunday afternoon for the college students; we bribed them to hang out with us. I miss cramming 25 people into my tiny living room for yet another pasta dish {because pasta’s cheap, right?}. We caught up on their week, listened to their plans, and laughed as they played with our kids.

Conversations on a patio, escaping the heat of our homes for the cool breeze of a So Cal night. Children playing {fighting} together and parents gossiping about marriage, parenting, ministry and futures. You can be a mentor {and be mentored} if you just take the time to be with other people.

Facebook, Twitter, blogs, texts, email and more. Seeing people’s needs and meeting them where they’re at. Offering prayers, advice, support, encouragement and assistance.

Jesus came to earth to live among us. He understands our pain, joys, frustrations, temptations and needs because He is fully human. Breaking bread with fishermen, prostitutes, tax collectors…the broken, sick, and lost.

After His death and resurrection, His disciples formed a community of individuals who lived life in common, viewing the needs of others as above their own.

This is the type of ministry I dream of…