“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45
Ministry comes from the Greek word diakoneo, which means “to serve”. In the New Testament, ministry is viewed as 1) service to God, and 2) service to other people in His name. Jesus provided the ideal model for Christian ministry. He came not to be served, but to serve! (Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45)
Sharing a relevant passage of scripture on Facebook is an example of serving God by sharing His Word with your friends online. If someone you know needs a job, tweeting the web address of CareerBuilder on Twitter is serving another during a time of need. Both are excellent examples of using social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, et al) to serve and minister to others online.
As ministers, we employ love and humility to meet people’s needs on behalf of Jesus. (1 Peter 4:10-11) Out of our devotion to Christ, we minister to others impartially and unconditionally, just as He did.
Today, ministry has come to be associated with only pastors, who often pursue it as a fulltime vocation, and devote their entire lives to ministry work. Thank God for pastors! However, ministry is not just restricted to pastors. All Christians should be involved in some service to others. (Romans 12:3-8, 10-13, 2 Timothy 2:24-26)
And while ministering to others’ spiritual needs should be a top priority, we certainly can’t overlook the physical, emotional, mental, vocational, and financial needs either!
Digital social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, et al) provide great platforms to address many of these individual needs. Social media can be used to provide websites for relevant resources, words of encouragement, prayers, and a caring , listening ear!
Habitat for Humanity is a great example of a Christian Ministry that uses its online presence to help meet the housing needs of those struggling with poverty across the nation and around the world.
Social media, definitely, offers some truly amazing tools to reach out and serve others through online ministry! The fantastic part is they’re mostly free, and right at you finger tips. Why not use some of these great tools to enhance your ministry?
Question: How do you use social media to serve and minister to others?
Until next time, remember, you can do all things thru Christ Jesus!
God Bless,
Kenneth Lillard
FAITH BASED MEDIA 2.0 