Philosophy of Ministry Statement

 

As a Christian woman appointed by God, I recognize and affirm that I am foremost a servant of God for His people. As an evangelist and prophet, I will preach the truth boldly in love to restore God’s people (Acts 13:46-47). As a pastor, I will teach His people in the ways of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20) and equip the saints for service to God (Ephesians 4:11-16). With my testimony, I will be God’s witness in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

 

“As a Christian woman appointed by God...”

 

“I believe in Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Triune Godhead; that He was eternally one with the Father; that He became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and was born of the Virgin Mary, so that two whole and perfect natures, that is to say, the Godhead and manhood, are thus united in one Person very God and very man, the God-man. I believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins and that He truly arose from the dead and took again His body, together with all things appertaining to the perfection of man’s nature, wherewith He ascended into heaven and is there engaged in intercession for us.”[1]

 

I am united with all believers in proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I believe that in divine love, God offers to all people a restored relationship with Him through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ. By making peace with God, I believe that He expects us to make peace with one another as well (Eph. 4:3). I believe my purpose is to exemplify the character of Christ toward others. I look to God, through prayer, and the Bible as the primary sources of spiritual Truth.

 

Through a divine act of His grace, I know God completed the work of entire sanctification in me. Because of this, my carnal nature was removed. I no longer fight the war of sin in my body and mind (Romans 8:1-2, 5). In this act of total surrender to God, I am moving toward the perfection to which God has called me. I now walk in victory and peace.

 

Appointed by God and anointed for service to Him, I must, then, challenge God’s people to remain committed and lead by example, never wavering from the clear, absolute truth of God’s unchanging Word. I must uphold my commitment to doctrine, truth, godly living, and personal evangelism.

 

“...I recognize and affirm that I am foremost a servant of God for His people.”

 

I am called by God to be Christ-like (Romans 8:29-30). Jesus did not serve himself but served his Father and the people, Jews and Greeks. He sacrificed his life to be a servant. He showed his servitude in many ways, but one way that has a strong emphasis to me is when he washed the feet of his disciples in the upper room (John 13). Humility, a servant's heart, and love were only a few of the characteristics of Jesus in that one act of selflessness. It is my greatest desire to achieve that type of selflessness. In serving God by serving people, my focus can remain on Him and not on the acts of others. My spiritual eyes are open to the hearts of His people as God anoints me with His love, grace, and mercy to share it with others. My spiritual formation is a necessary way for me to continue to learn how best to accomplish that goal.[2] “Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men...Doing nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves” (Eph. 6:6-7; Phil. 2:3).

 

This service comes from the deeply held knowledge that Christ is the head of the church. My husband is the head over me, but over us is the authority of Christ, whom we serve together as one (Ecclesiastes 4:9).

 

“As an evangelist and prophet, I will preach the truth boldly in love to restore God’s people (Acts 13:46-47).”

 

It is my passion to restore those who have wandered from God. My message must always be biblical in its content, not merely a message of psychology – a message to please men. The message must continually lift up the cross, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the life-changing truth of God’s Word. The motivation of the message must be to lift, proclaim, live, preach, and honor the Word of God and serve it as the final authority.

 

My heart breaks for Christians who have become disillusioned with the ways and Spirit of God. It is my call from God to restore them gently (Gal. 6:1). This restoration includes using intercessory prayer. No matter what, though, I must be motivated by grace, serving, encouraging, and giving while staying true to the Sovereignty of God and His Word.

 

God has touched my mouth with His hand and put His words in my mouth that I may be appointed over nations and kingdoms to uproot, tear down, to destroy and overthrow, but also to build up and to plant (Jer. 1:9-10). However, it is not up to me to choose the tearing down and the building up. It is through divine direction that this may be done. Only through the spiritual disciplines that I regularly practice will I recognize the will and way of God and follow the Spirit’s leading.

 

The spiritual disciplines that God uses to teach, lead, and guide me include lectio divina, Bible reading, Bible study, prayer, meditation, journaling, and fasting. Through learning how to know God, I mentor others toward an intimate relationship with God. For those who have fallen away, I lead and guide them toward a deeper understanding of God’s will in their lives by revealing His truths boldly, in love, without fear (Rom. 1:16).

 

It is important to me that we teach that by “participating in the means of grace, especially the fellowship, disciplines, and sacraments of the Church, believers grow in grace and wholehearted love to God and neighbor.”[3] “To attract a crowd to church by encouraging them to come just as they are and leave without any change is to practice a kind of Christianity foreign to the teaching of the Bible.”[4] Neglecting change is the opposite of God’s will (Eph. 4:22-24).

 

I believe that restoration does not only come in the form of spiritual renewal to God, but it can also mean restoration of the physical and mental health of God’s people. I believe in the biblical doctrine of divine healing.  I urge people to offer the prayer of faith for the healing of the sick.[5] It is here that I must also be an intercessor, anointing the sick with oil and prayer.

 

The mission of the Church – and thereby my mission – is to minister to the whole person. God has created us as whole persons, and it is our mission to be ministers of God’s love to people as whole persons – body, mind, soul, and spirit. I must not just minister to the spiritual aspect of a person, but often it is help with the body and mind that needs first attending to before spiritual matters can even be addressed. Being aware of individual needs takes a special ability that goes beyond the human eye, and includes the spiritual eye of a pastor/shepherd.  

 

“As a pastor, I will teach His people in the ways of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20) and equip the saints for service to God (Ephesians 4:11-16).”

 

The Great Commission given by Jesus, to go and make disciples of every nation, is simple in its statement, but many Christians have wondered how to go about this. This is the call of every Christian, not just those called specifically to be pastors or evangelists. However, my four-fold philosophy of ministry statement is the link between restoring God’s people and being a witness; I believe the two calls cannot exist without the Great Commission. The church must be sensitive to the mission of the Lord Jesus Christ, who came to seek and to save the lost.

 

It is important to realize that to make a disciple, one must first be a disciple. Only disciples can make disciples. We reproduce what we are. Only growing leaders grow leaders. So, scripturally, what is a disciple? The literal meaning of the word disciple as used in the New Testament is “learner or pupil.” Jesus said in Luke 6:40, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher” (NKJV). Making disciples necessitates training and learning. Training comes through studying the Word of God, and learning (transformation) comes by the renewing of the mind (Rom. 12:2).

 

However, the Great Commission is only one-half of the discipleship-making process. Without the tools necessary, God’s people cannot complete the tasks to which He has called them. It takes step-by-step teaching and leading by example to help Christians truly understand the combination of salvation and service. Watered-down theology skips and often eliminates the need to dedicate oneself to a complete service to God, the need for sanctification. As pastors, we are called to equip the saints so the body of Christ might be built up (Ephesians 4:11-12).

 

Making disciples starts with me, not by my attempts to create disciples, but by becoming one wholly and fully through training and learning. Training and learning go back to the spiritual disciplines I mentioned earlier. I must be focused on my spiritual formation to know how to share, teach, and train Christians in the ways of God. Then send them out, so they can share, teach, and train other Christians to be disciples. Active, spiritually forming disciples of Jesus beget disciples of Jesus. This perpetuates the spreading of the Good News!

 

“With my testimony, I will be God’s witness in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).”

 

Many people believe their witness is only through the use of their mouth. I do not believe this is the only way to witness for Jesus. I believe it is my life, the way I live, and the way God has completely changed my life that speaks so much more boldly to the saving grace and sanctification of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

 

I affirm the core value of the Church of the Nazarene, which states: “We are especially called to witness to the holiness of Christ's Church as embraced in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition. We affirm the principles of salvation by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior. In doing so, we continue to affirm that Christ's Church is one, universal, and apostolic. But our special calling is to hold before the eyes of the world and the Church the centrality of holiness and to encourage the people of God to live in the fullness of the Father's holy love. For this reason, we affirm the Wesleyan-Holiness understanding of the Christian faith and seek to remain faithful to its principal teachings: God's prevenient grace and the means of grace, repentance, faith, the new birth, justification, assurance, the Christian community and its disciplines, and the perfection of love.”

 

The mission field is everywhere, even in my backyard. As a witness to God’s grace, I know my backyard may be in the United States, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, or anywhere I reside. I am willing to allow God to lead me in any direction because of the trust and faith I have in Him. He has encouraged me so often through Joshua 1:9 where He says, “Have I not commanded you? Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. For the Lord Your God is with you wherever you go” (NIV). I fully believe this means everywhere I go.

 

To become a witness, I must first be restored to God, then become a disciple of Jesus. The Nazarene Mission is “To make Christ-like Disciples in the Nations.” It is part of my call to support and carry out this mission by being willing to go anywhere God calls me to share my testimony and the Gospel. I must be vulnerable and transparent when sharing my life story with others because of the drastic changes God has made in my life. If I cannot open my heart to strangers, how will they follow me to Jesus? God has used the weakness of my life to reveal the power of His strength (2 Cor. 12:9). As a witness, I must share; this I cannot hide (Mark 4:22).

 

Conclusion

 

Over the years, my philosophy of ministry has not changed. Although I have grown both spiritually and academically, the philosophy written here is based on the never-changing Word of God. Since I can rely on His Word to be the source of my life, I rest assured of my call to lead others to Christ.

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