It was [God] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. Ephesians 4:11-12 

There’s a trick question that I’ve used for years when I help facilitate the Discover ODBC class at our church. Discover ODBC (soon to be “Discover GLCC!”) is the several week introductory class that we encourage every attendee to take to find out about the purpose, vision and ministries of our church. If you haven’t yet participated in the class, I’ll give you the heads up on the answer. Here’s the question: 

How many ministers does Old Dominion Baptist Church have? 
A. 1 
B. 5 
C. 703 

Now, the purpose of the question is not to quiz people on their knowledge of the pastoral structure of the church, but rather to challenge a common misperception that many believers have. The correct answer, of course, is C. 703 (the average adult attendance of the past month at the church). 

It is the people of the church that God has appointed to be ministers- one to another and to the world as a whole. Have you ever thought of yourself as a minister? “Minister” in Scripture is not specifically reserved for clergy, but means “servant of the king.” It is the same word for deacons, found throughout the New Testament. Therefore, a minister is not someone who wears a backwards collar (thank heavens), speaks in stained-glass tones, and folds their hands a lot. A minister is someone who sees themselves as serving Christ the King in whatever responsibilities they have been given. They roll up their sleeves and dive into service wherever God places them: at home, work and church. 
Many times we look at particularly gifted men and women as the measure of effective ministry. “Billy Graham has preached over his lifetime to 2.2 billion and had 2.5 million respond to the gospel so what could I possibly do for the kingdom of God?”, we think. And while God does gift some men and women in extraordinary ways, I am convinced that the majority of Kingdom work is accomplished by millions of ‘ordinary’ believers walking out their faith while attuned to God’s Spirit. The ‘small’ contributions of the many outstrip the ‘large’ contributions of the few every time. 

Gerald Sittser makes this point well in his book, Water from a Deep Well. 

The church as a community is capable of advancing the cause of the kingdom. Through sheer numbers alone that “little” can amount to “much.” What if 50 million [believers] began in modest ways to live more earnestly and deliberately for the kingdom? What if these believers consecrated their lives to God, began to practice spiritual disciplines in earnest and committed themselves to serve God’s kingdom? Just one hundred extra dollars a year would provide 5 billion dollars to help fight AIDS in Africa and battle sex trafficking in Asia. Just one hundred extra hours a year would provide 50 billion volunteer hours to man soup kitchens in cities and pound nails for Habitat for Humanity… Churches move slowly, just like glaciers, which is why activists so often become impatient. But when they do change, they can become as powerful as an advancing glacier that sweeps away everything in its path. In the end, slow, incremental, concrete change might be the most effective kind.

God has made you a minister. You are deployed as an agent of the King. So, whatever you do today… offer it to God as an act of service.