And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned [condemned]. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover – Mark 16:15-18.

Ministering is not just the five-fold ministry: apostle, pastor, prophet, teacher, and evangelist. Everyone who is a saint of God can and should minister salvation to all who will receive.

Some religions consider saints to be those who are deceased, but the Bible refers to true Christians as saints. Saints are listed in the Old Testament thirty-five times and sixty times in the New Testament. Saints are holy people, dedicated to God and His Word.

Saints are those who are non-titled and titled; they minister beyond the pulpit. These verses of Scripture were written to all believers who have been born again. Everyone professing to be a Christian is not a Christian if they are living opposite to God’s Word. Christians are to be Christ-like.

Every born-again Christian has spiritual authority over the enemy. Every Christian can be baptized in the Holy Spirit; it’s not just for a certain group of people. When one truly believes in the heart and has surrendered themselves completely to the Lordship of Jesus, they are a believer or a Christian.

The whole person has to be submitted to the Lord, not just the mouth professing to be a believer. If the heart has not been fully submitted to the Lordship of Jesus, the person will continue the lifestyle they were living before accepting salvation.

Our first ministry should be in our home among our relatives. Witnessing to relatives can be difficult when they want religion and not Christianity. We can witness to them the Word of God and then demonstrate our faith through our lifestyle. If they don’t want to accept salvation, don’t harass them with the Word of God; Jesus didn’t do it, and neither should we. Continue to pray that God will soften their hearts, draw them to Him, and send His laborers to them to minister.

As God’s ministers, our lifestyle should align with God’s Word. We don’t want to be a stumbling block to anyone. To cause them to be religious and not a believer. We should always be ready to minister salvation to the lost. We can’t minister to people if we’re living the same lifestyle as the nonbeliever.

As Christians, we need to spend quality time with God in prayer, reading, and studying His Word to be prepared to minister as God places people in our lives. We have to stay connected to God to hear from Him to minister to His people.

We need to be sensitive to how we minister to hurting people. Sometimes, ministering to the brokenhearted, we need to allow them to talk before giving suggestions. While listening to them also pray inwardly to get an answer from God to know what to say or not say. Sometimes, He just wants us to listen to the person until they get a release, then we can offer prayer. End the prayer with I’m here for you if you need someone to talk to or if there’s anything I can do to help you.

When someone is suffering from defeat, don’t tell them that if they had faith, they wouldn’t be in the mess they’re in. Let them know everyone makes mistakes, and they can recover from their mistakes. We are to build and not destroy.

One device Satan uses against believers and nonbelievers is condemnation for past mistakes. Satan will try to torment Christians in this area by bringing up mistakes they have made, even mistakes they made years ago, mistakes for which they have already received forgiveness. The people can be living godly, productive lives, but for whatever reason, they are still allowing Satan to torment them with thoughts of the past.

Rather than condemning them, we need to minister God’s grace and power to them with compassion and understanding. Ministering is not about telling people how wrong they are or their mistakes, it’s drawing them with lovingkindness as God did with us!

As Christians pray for God to send laborers to His harvest, let’s be prepared when He sends them. If you don’t have the Holy Spirit, ask for it, it’s a gift from God to empower His people (If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him – Luke 11:13)? We need the gift of the Holy Spirit to minister effectively.

Ministering is not about a title; it’s about ministering to the lost and hurting.