No church can survive solely upon the labors of its pastors. No church can thrive when the expectation is that all ministry must be formal and must originate from the front of the room. No church can remain healthy when it falls to the elders to give and the members to consume. Rather, the work of ministry within a local church is the privilege and responsibility of each of the people who makes that church their own.

One of the most important ministries that any Christian can engage in is also one of the most unheralded. One of the ministries that is key to the functioning of the local church and to advancement in the Christian life is also one of the most overlooked. It is the simplest of all ministries and the least formal, a ministry that each of us is equipped to carry out. It is the ministry of being just a little bit further along.
There is a place in the church and a place in life for expertise and formal training. But there is a much wider place for simple commitment and involvement. The great majority of the help people need as they navigate life’s trials, the great bulk of the counsel people seek as they encounter life’s questions, does not require the input of experts, but merely the attention of someone who knows God and who knows his Word. They do not need someone who has access to the original languages or who exposits Scripture at a post-graduate level. They do not need someone who holds credentials from a Christian counseling organization or who has dedicated a whole lifetime to studying theology. These things are good and have their place, but they are not often truly necessary.
What most people need and long for as they face trials and encounter questions is simply the dedicated attention of someone who is a little bit further along, the listening ear and gentle voice of someone who is a few steps ahead on the path of life, or the path of ministry, or the path of suffering, or the path of parenting. Most are merely seeking someone who will informally mentor them from the perspective of their own successes and failures, their own experiences of good and bad, the godly wisdom they have accumulated along the way.
What’s so wonderful about this ministry is that we can all take it up, for each of us is just a little bit further along than someone else. The father with toddlers is a little bit further along than the father with an infant, the mother who lost a child ten years ago to the one whose child has only just been laid in the grave. The Christian teen has taken a few more steps along the path of life than the child, the Christian senior than the one in her forties. Each of them can prayerfully look back and extend a helping hand, a word of advice, a prayer of intercession, to a person following along behind. Each of them can take up this ministry of blessing and encouragement, of Word and prayer, of time and attention. For they have the one key credential: they are a little bit further along.

We often make the mistake of thinking that more money would bring more happiness. We know in our minds that money brings as many cares as it does freedoms and that the wealthy are no happier than the merely comfortable. Yet we still believe that we would be more satisfied if we only had more wealth. De Witt Talmage beautifully counters that notion in this brief excerpt of a sermon from long ago by explaining that both poverty and riches are a matter of the heart. 

There are millions of people who on departing this life will have nothing to leave but a good name and life insurance, whose illumined faces are [proof] of illumined souls. They wish everybody well.
When the fire bell rings they do not go to the window at midnight to see if it is their store that is on fire, for they never owned a store; and when the September equinox is abroad they do not worry lest their ships founder in a gale, for they never owned a ship; and when the nominations are made for high political office they are not fearful that their name will be overlooked, for they never applied for office.
When the children of that family assemble in the sitting room of the old homestead to hear the father’s will read, they are not fearful of being cut off with a million and a half dollars, for the old man never owned anything more than the farm of seventy-five acres, which yielded only enough plainly to support the household.
They have more happiness in one month than many have in a whole lifetime. Would to God I had the capacity to explain to you on how little a man can be happy, and on how much he may be wretched! Get your heart right, and all is right. Keep your heart wrong, and all is wrong. That is a principle settled in heaven.

This week the blog is sponsored by Children’s Hunger Fund (CHF), a nonprofit seeking to “deliver hope to suffering children by equipping local churches for gospel-centered mercy ministry.” Serving in the United States and 31 other countries, CHF seeks to help the local church reach suffering children and families in their communities with both physical help and spiritual hope found only in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

One of the questions I get regularly starts something like, “I’m just a… college student… high schooler… teacher with student debts… how should I think about giving?” This question is similar for those who are elderly, those who are facing some sort of personal financial strain, those who are wealthy with a California mortgage, or those who are comfortably middle class.
One thing that has always been true about God’s people is that God commends those who give generously, regardless of their circumstances. Remember Jesus sitting at the temple in Mark 12 watching the givers? The wealthy and the poor widow both gave, but the widow was commended for her generosity.
How should we think about our own giving? I don’t have a formula or a clear target percentage for you, but Scripture does speak to the motives and purposes of our giving.
Giving is expected of God’s people.
The Old Testament consistently reports that God’s people dedicated gifts and tithes to Him. The annual festivals, harvests, and even the births of children were celebrated with offerings to the service of the Lord. Within the Gospels, Jesus recognized the gifts of people at the temple and clarified that the heart motivation behind the giving is vitally important. (Lev. 22, 2 Cor. 9:7)
Giving demonstrates our dependence on God as both a reflection of stewardship and an act of worship.
Everything that any believer has belongs to God. He has entrusted His people with possessions so that they might honor Him. Whether in large or small amounts, the believer who gives with thankfulness (Psalm 50) demonstrates the greatness of God by declaring His care and provision. (Matt. 6:19-21) How you handle your money will reveal where your treasure is.
Giving provides for the work of the church and the care of those in need.
The benevolence of God’s people has been expected to supply for the needs of the church as well as the foreigners, widows, and those impacted by poverty. Giving forces our eyes off our own needs to see God provide through us to others. (Deut. 26:12, 1 Tim. 6:17-19, James 1:27)
The simple act of regular giving can bring remembrance of God’s provision—spiritual and physical. The generous stewardship of what He has provided truly brings joy as we worship Him through cheerful giving.
Please know, there is great joy in giving God’s money back to His work. You won’t regret giving well!
You can put these principles into practice right now by donating to Children’s Hunger Fund for Giving Tuesday! When you give to CHF, each dollar can provide 4 meals for children in need, and thanks to a generous gift match, on Giving Tuesday, your donation can be matched for twice the impact. Make a difference here.