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In Christianity, ministry is an activity carried out by Christians to express or spread their faith, the prototype being the Great Commission. The ''
Encyclopedia of Christianity The ''Encyclopedia of Christianity'' is a one-volume encyclopedia published by Oxford University Press and edited by John Bowden of the University of Nottingham and King's College, London.Richard N. Ostling"Two reference works rank as 2005's bes ...
'' defines it as "carrying forth
Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
's mission in the world", indicating that it is "conferred on each Christian in
baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
." It is performed by most Christians. This is distinguished from the " office of minister", to which specific individuals who feel a certain vocation. It can signify this activity as a whole, or specific activities, or organizations within a
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...
dedicated to specific activities. Some ministries are identified formally as such, and some are not; some ministry is directed towards members of the church, and some towards non-members. See also
Apostolates An apostolate is a Christian organization "directed to serving and evangelizing the world", most often associated with the Anglican Communion or the Catholic Church. In more general usage, an apostolate is an association of persons dedicated to the ...
.


Age-specific ministry

As churches attempt to meet the needs of their congregations, they often separate their members into groups according to age categories. Age-specific groups meet for religious study including Sunday school programs,
fellowship A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher educatio ...
, and other activities. These age divisions may include: *Nursery * Pre-school *Children, generally elementary age students * Youth, generally middle and high school
students A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...
* Young Adults, designed for university-age students *Adults, which is often broken up into
single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
adults, couples ministry, men's and women's ministries, and senior adults.


Advantages and disadvantages

There are several advantages to the concept of age-specific ministries. *Many parents /
caregivers A caregiver or carer is a paid or unpaid member of a person's social network who helps them with activities of daily living. Since they have no specific professional training, they are often described as informal caregivers. Caregivers most commo ...
are glad to allow the church to be in charge of the spiritual enrichment of their children. Similarly, they are used to using programs for the development of their children such as weekday
childcare Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...
, preschool, and
grade school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
and enjoy the ability to continue a similar format in church. *These ministries allow churches to provide 'age-appropriate' activities and content to maximize spiritual education and growth as well as peer group
fellowship A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher educatio ...
. *Ministries often provide fellowship activities outside of the church service that encourage the involvement of non-church going friends and relatives. Age-specific ministry does have certain disadvantages, mostly stemming from the separation of children from the primary church functions. *In terms of religious education, the 'socialization' of children into the faith community is one important approach that requires connecting the children and family with the wider congregation. *These ministries may increase the possibility of child abuse within the church as it does increase the amount of time children spend without the supervision of their particular parent or caretaker or the presence of the congregation at large. It is worth noting, however, that many churches hire certified teachers to fill these positions and most perform background checks on anyone that may come into supervisory contact with children. *Certain forms of these ministries reduce the role that "family life" plays in the development of children, because of the separation of differing age groups into differently facilitated programs. In some ministries, the children are also placed separate from the rest of the congregation, such as during Sunday school and youth programs. Many of these programs, however, take place at different times from the primary church service, and in many churches, only children of elementary school age and younger are separated from the main service to provide more relevant material to their age group.


Creative and performing arts

Nearly all churches feature some form of
worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition ...
music, whether from a
choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...
, orchestra, or
worship band Contemporary worship is a form of Christian worship that emerged within Western evangelical Protestantism in the 20th century. It was originally confined to the charismatic movement, but is now found in a wide range of churches, including many ...
, whether accompanied or
a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without Musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differ ...
. Religious organizations also incorporate other forms of creative and performance arts into their services or programs.


Community service and outreach

Many churches sponsor ministries designed to reach out others on a local and global scale, usually grouped under the heading of missions. There are many organizations which perform missions on a fully funded and organized level, such as the
North American Mission Board The North American Mission Board (NAMB) is the domestic missions agency of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). It is involved in Southern Baptist church planting and revitalization, coordinating one of the United States's largest disaster relie ...
, operated by the Southern Baptist Convention and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC). However, some Christian churches and ministries have evolved to take on a larger role in the community service and global outreach programs. Community service ministries may include a "soup kitchen",
homeless ministry Homeless ministry is the intentional interaction between Christians and homeless persons, regardless of their faith. The ministering typically occurs in the environment in which the homeless reside. It may include distribution of provisions such as ...
, crisis center, food pantry, unplanned pregnancy center, senior visitation program, new parent support, Animal Chaplains, or a number of other specialized ministries. These specialized ministries can include formal or informal approaches to intentionally interacting with others, encouraging, counseling, and providing
relational care Practical theology is an academic discipline that examines and reflects on religious practices in order to understand the theology enacted in those practices and in order to consider how theological theory and theological practices can be more full ...
to them. If activities such as these are held at a church but are not organized primarily by its members and do not contain religious overtones, the activity would better be classified as church reordering, rather than ministry.


Sacramental ministry, Catholic Church

Theologians differentiate between Religious ministry and
Apostolates An apostolate is a Christian organization "directed to serving and evangelizing the world", most often associated with the Anglican Communion or the Catholic Church. In more general usage, an apostolate is an association of persons dedicated to the ...
. Ministry, for Catholics, pertains to the administration of the Sacraments, and their appropriate ministers are as follows: A final, and most proper, use of the term "ministries" pertains to those instituted by the bishop: *Acolyte (May administer the Eucharist) *Lector (May read the readings at Mass, except for the Gospel which is reserve for a priest or deacon) Ordained ministers are those who have received Holy Orders: deacons, priests, and bishops. Note that a bishop can do anything a priest can do, and a priest can do anything a deacon can do. * Christianity * Christian theology * Theology of relational care * Minister of religion *
Sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...
*
Ministry of Jesus The ministry of Jesus, in the canonical gospels, begins with his baptism in the countryside of Roman Judea and Transjordan, near the River Jordan by John the Baptist, and ends in Jerusalem, following the Last Supper with his disciples.''Chr ...
* Great Commission *
Homeless ministry Homeless ministry is the intentional interaction between Christians and homeless persons, regardless of their faith. The ministering typically occurs in the environment in which the homeless reside. It may include distribution of provisions such as ...
* Parachurch organization


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christian Ministry * Christian terminology