{"id":20171,"date":"2017-08-16T08:00:49","date_gmt":"2017-08-16T12:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mintools.com\/blog\/?p=20171"},"modified":"2025-08-27T09:09:33","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T13:09:33","slug":"all-ministries-valued","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mintools.com\/blog\/all-ministries-valued.htm","title":{"rendered":"Nuts & Bolts Ministries: All Ministries Valued"},"content":{"rendered":"

Training Category: Nuts & Bolts Ministries<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"All
\nAccording to Ephesians 4:16,<\/span> everybody has a part in contributing to God’s work through the Church. And, all parts should be valued according to 1 Corinthians 12, not just those with more visible, upfront types of ministries like teachers or leaders.<\/p>\n

It also includes the more behind-the-scenes, less visible ministries such as clerical, communications, facilities and grounds maintenance, hospitality, staff support, technical services, and other service-oriented types of ministry.<\/div>\n

All Ministries Valued Based on God’s Assessment<\/h2>\n

If we look at verses in 1 Corinthians 12 we see the value of all ministries based on God’s intent.<\/p>\n

But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. (1 Cor. 12:18)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

God knows what He is doing. He designed each one of us to serve where He deems important.<\/p>\n

If we were to be able to do a cross section of the church at large in terms of the distribution of spiritual gifts, we would undoubtedly find a large percentage of people with the spiritual gifts of helps<\/a> and service<\/a>, two of the primary gifts used in these kinds of ministries. Yet, we tend to put more emphasis, or even more value, on those with the gifts of pastor, teaching, leadership, evangelism, or missionary. God, however, knew that the behind-the-scenes types of ministry would be important to holding church life together and that it would take many people to do it. Because of how they tend to hold things together, we’ll call their serving\u00a0Nuts & Bolts Ministry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable (1 Cor. 12:21-22)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

God puts great value on the nuts and bolts kinds of ministries. According to Thayers Lexicon, the Greek word used for “indispensable” in the above verse signifies that which is necessary, what one cannot do without. Though we might put more emphasis on the upfront leadership and teaching gifts, God does not. In a very real sense, people involved in what we are calling the nuts and bolts ministries, are like the hands and feet of the church.<\/p>\n

and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. (1 Cor. 12:23-25)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

God is the One who has made these kinds of ministries honorable. If God considers people doing these types of ministries valuable, who are we to place less value on them? Rather, we should be protecting and affirming people doing nuts and bolts kinds of ministries. We must guard against elevating certain ministries as more noble.<\/p>\n

Not only are the contributions of those doing nuts and bolts kinds of ministry to be valued, like other ministries, they are also essential to the big picture<\/a>. (Click link to read more.)<\/p>\n

The Nuts & Bolts Ministry Manual<\/strong><\/a> includes the above content plus implications of it for those serving in these ways, for pastors and leaders overseeing them, and for the Body at large. It also contains a page for each of the six broad categories of ministries, listed in the second paragraph above, discussing the value of it for the Church and implications for those serving in that way, for those overseeing them, and for members of the Body benefiting from their service.<\/p>\n

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