Ministers And Ministry

By Professor P. V. Ntintili

The Church has a critical role to play in society and ministers are pivotal to the effectiveness of the Church. Ministry can be a lonely vocation. While ministers serve everybody in the congregation and in society at large, they have no one really serving them. This book is written to encourage those called to be ministers of Christ and of His people. It warns them of the myriad of challenges faced by ministers and guides them on how to navigate their way around these daunting challenges. It also gives them tips on how to be effective ministers. This is a must-read book for those who desire to be effective in what God has called them to do. It would be a good book for ministers to study in their ministers’ fraternities. It would also be useful in the training of ministers. The book is not just theoretical but also deals with practical issues ministers grapple with. If you desire to be both effective and efficient in the ministry, this book is good for you. While the target group for the book is ministers, others too could gain immensely from reading it. If you wish to encourage your minister/pastor, this would be the perfect gift to give him or her.

About the author

Professor P. V. Ntintili is a teacher and preacher of God’s Word and is used widely in the Body of Christ. He is particularly committed to discipleship, leadership training, and equipping ministers to be effective to the work God has called them to execute for the kingdom of God. He is deeply committed to helping young people to fully exploit the potential that is latent in them. He has a programme called “Raising Replacement Sons And Daughters” which is aimed at succession planning. Young people must be prepared now to replace the current crop of leaders. He conducts all kinds of conferences and retreats for the Church and for the various professional groupings. He is married to Felicia and they have three grown up children.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Professor P. V. Ntintili
• Release date: Jun 12, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463722626

Book preview

MINISTERS and MINISTRY

MINISTERS and MINISTRY

The Life and Work of Christ's Ministers

Professor P. V. Ntintili

Ph.D.; Th.D.

Copyright © 2019 Professor P. V. Ntintili

First edition 2019

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Published by Fulfill The Mandate Publishers

using Reach Publishers’ services,

P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck, South Africa, 3631

Edited by Vanessa Finaughty for Reach Publishers

Cover designed by Reach Publishers

Website: www.reachpublishers.co.za

E-mail: [e-mail]

Published by:

Fulfill The Mandate Publishers

12 Prestwich Avenue, Mthatha, Eastern Cape

Dedication

This dedication is going to be uncharacteristically long. Please bear with me. I dedicate this book to unsung heroes who heralded the Gospel and blazed the fires of revival in yesteryears. The list is endless and the book is representatively dedicated to four illustrious preachers of the Gospel in South Africa. They are Job Y. Chiliza (1986–1963), who was born in Mzumbe, KwaZulu-Natal. Initially, he belonged to the American Board Missions. After his conversion, he joined the Full Gospel Church, but later started the African Gospel Church and became the first moderator of this church. He started a college and a hospital. He was a very prayerful person who fasted for long periods. Some people had his picture and they hung it up in their houses, believing that the picture would drive away demons. He would be terribly angered by this and would ask, referring to his picture, What is that rubbish you are hanging on your walls? He had a tremendous impact on Nicholas Bhengu, who looked to him as an inspiration. It would be correct to say that Chiliza was the discipler of Nicholas Bhengu.

I dedicate the book also to Nicholas Bhekinkosi Bhengu (1909–1985), who was born in Entumeni, in KwaZulu-Natal. He was originally from Norwegian Lutheran missionary church and was a court interpreter. As a youth, he was a Marxist and an active worker in the Communist Party. At the age of 20, he attended a Full Gospel evangelistic crusade in Kimberly by two American evangelists. It was here that Bhengu met Christ; it was in 1929. From 1934–1936, he attended the South African General Mission Bible Training School in Dumisa, Natal. After graduating, his abilities in several languages allowed him to work as a court interpreter. In 1937, he was ordained by the Assemblies of God, with whom he had affiliated. In 1945, he began holding meetings in Port Elizabeth, which were marked by changed lives, outstanding miracles and overflowing joy of the people. In 1950, he opened The Pilgrim Bible School and also launched the Africa Back to God Crusade in East London. His Back to God Crusade began as a non-denominational ministry, but soon he began to gather his converts into a church, which grew to 1,500 active members within a year. This was probably the largest Pentecostal church in South Africa at the time. In April 1952, a mass baptism of 1,300 converts was held under Bhengu’s direction. In 1957, a church building seating 4,000–5,000 was dedicated in East London, which became the headquarters of his evangelistic and church-planting ministry. By 1959, 50 churches with 15,000 members had been planted as a result of Bhengu’s evangelistic and church-planting ministry. The impact of Bhengu’s preaching was astonishing. In some areas, like Soweto, where he ministered, crime rate dropped by as much as one third, and it was common for people to respond to his message by leaving their weapons and stolen goods in piles at his feet. The Assemblies of God – Africa Back to God church, which he started – grew rapidly in South Africa and extended to the neighbouring countries. Just like his father in the Lord, Job Chiliza, he also performed incredible miracles. He was known for miracles and sound doctrine. He was an evangelist, teacher and pastor. He emphasised holiness, fear of God and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He taught his church to be financially self-sustaining and materially independent. He organised effective and productive evangelistic tent crusades. However, he was strict that the sinners to whom they preached should not be asked to give during tent crusades. He left Chiliza, under whom he worked for some time. He was burdened about unreached professionals. He felt that he was called to bridge the gap between the educated and the uneducated.

It is also dedicated to Richard Ngidi (1921–1985), who was born in Umzimnyathi, KwaZulu-Natal and was converted in 1952 through the evangelistic crusades of Nicholas Bhengu in Lamontville, Durban. He used to belong to the American Board Mission. After his conversion, his church expelled him. He joined the Apostolic Faith Mission and attended Lerato Bible College. He was a God-fearing man. He used to fast for 40 days. His ministry was characterised by mind-boggling miracles. He ushered thousands of precious souls to the kingdom of God.

Finally, the book is dedicated to William Duma (1907–1977), who was born near Umkomaas, KwaZulu-Natal. He was converted to Christ at the age of 11 years. He mother, Nomvula, was a devoted Christian who had a tremendous influence on him. She was a prayerful woman and imparted this to her son, who was later known as ‘a man of prayer’. His uncle, Vika, was a principled Christian who, after His conversion, refused to eat meat dedicated to ancestors. For that, he was persecuted by the family members and asked to leave the home with his young wife. Despite this persecution, he courageously stood for his faith. This left an indelible impression on the young William Duma. Between the ages of 12 and 20, William Duma was sickly and, during this time, his mother also died. He prayed to God for his personal healing and God healed him. Before his mother died, she called him and told him that she wanted him to be a minister of the Word. He went to Durban to work and that is where he attended bible school. He started his ministry at a small American Board Church, but, in 1939, he received a call from Umngeni Road Baptist Church and he spent his next 36 years of his life as a pastor of this one church. Before he took the pastorate of the Umngeni Road Baptist Church, he fasted for 21 days. During this time, God appeared to him and told him that He had anointed him to preach the Gospel, to heal the sick, cast out demons and raise the dead. His ministry was characterised by healing miracles and the preaching of the Word of God. He even raised people from the dead. One of Bhengu’s daughters was sick and died. Bhengu called Duma from Durban and he went to Bhengu’s place. The name of the child was Litha. He prayed for her and she came back to life. He also pastored Lamontville Baptist Church in the latter years of his life. His Umngeni Road Baptist Church was the first church to become multi-racial and this was in the days of apartheid when churches were separated according to race. Many whites, coloureds and Indians were drawn to his church by the miracles that he was performing and many were healed. He also travelled to Germany and Scotland, besides speaking in the Congo, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Zambia. His favourite phrase was ‘take your glory, Lord’ and Mary Garnett wrote a book on him with the same title. Leonard Ravenhill was impacted greatly when he read Take Your Glory Lord and talked a lot about William Duma. Another favourite expression of William Duma’s was ‘He is still on the throne’.

This book is dedicated to these men of God who were mightily used by God and who ushered thousands of people into the kingdom of God and who preached the pure Gospel of Christ. God was pleased to release His power and other heavenly resources to them. Even though they performed ‘raw’ miracles, they never turned their eyes to look at them. Instead, they focussed their eyes on the cross of Christ and the Gospel they were preaching, and they were not distracted by the signs and wonders that followed them. May God raise us again, in these last days, men like them.

The book is also dedicated to many nameless men and women of God who have untiringly laboured for God in obscurity; particularly in rural villages where life is extremely hard. Though they seem to be forgotten and unnoticed, heaven has not forgotten them. God does not forget His silent, but faithful servants. May we who labour for God today carry on from where these giants have left off. May we be reminded that ‘our labour in the Lord is never in vain’ (1 Cor. 15:58). Let us keep our hands on the plough until the Lord calls us to glory in heaven!

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

1. The Centrality of Ministers in God’s Purposes

2. Ministers Are Oblivious of Who They Are

3. What to do to be a Good Minister

4. Ministers and Their Call

5. Ministers and Their Mandate

6. Characteristics of True Ministers

7. Essential Qualities Of Ministers Of Christ

8. Primary Responsibilities of Ministers

9. The Secrets to Becoming an Effective Minister

10. The Advantages Ministers Fail to Recognise and Exploit

11. Equipping People to Serve

12. Essential Skills Necessary For Ministers

13. A Minister’s Home

14. The Secrets of Power For a Minister

15. Deadly Temptations of a Minister

16. Challenges of Today’s Ministers

17. Encouraging Developments in Ministry

18. The Role of Discipleship in a Minister’s Life

19. Christ, the Model Minister

20. Nobility and Accountability of Ministers

Bibliography

Preface

The hope of Christ on earth is the Church. He said that He would build His Church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. This alludes to the fact that there will be a fierce contention between the forces of darkness and the Church of Christ. Indeed, this has been the case from time immemorial to date. When the Church fails, communities fail, and when communities fail, the whole nation is impoverished. It was God’s intention that the Church would be the light of the world, banishing all the works of darkness. He also hoped that the Church would be the salt of the earth, arresting decay (Matt. 5:14–16). When we read biblical history and contemporary history, we will discover that there were times when the Church truly was the light of the world. Though some may differ, I am of the opinion that, during the time of Emperor Constantine, the Church had unrivalled influence on earth. There were other times, such as the Reformation Period, when the Church had tremendous influence on earth. Most historians concur that the Industrial Revolution was the outcome of the Reformation.

However, sadly, there are also times when the Church was in doldrums and when it was inglorious. During such times, the Church was engaged in all kinds of scandals. Such is our time. Recently, I saw on TV an announcement of a new church that was being formed and its name is Rhabula, which means ‘take a drink’. When people are being oriented in this church, they are given intoxicating liquor to drink and it is the senior pastor who performs this initiation of new members into liquor drinking. When things such as these are happening, it means that the Church has lost its flavour and influence in society. That is why the Church is so disrespected in our days that thugs are not afraid to break into the church and steal musical instruments and anything else that they can lay their hands on. The Church has lost the glory that it once enjoyed. It has become an institution of ridicule, derision and scorn. One does not wonder why this is the case. There are horrendous stories of scandalous wickedness that are taking place inside the holy four walls of the Church, including rape, incest, murder, stealing and violence.

People to restore the respectability of the Church are ministers. What members turn out to be depends on the example that pastors display to them. We do not have rotten churches, but rotten pulpits and rotten pastors who mount those pulpits Sunday to Sunday. Church members often take after the image of their pastor. If God could help pastors, churches could be helped and, when churches are helped, communities will be helped, and, when communities are helped, our nations will be helped. This book is a feeble attempt to make a difference in the lives of our pastors and they, in turn, will make a difference in the congregations where God has deployed them. We pray that those pastors who pick up this book will be challenged to the core and that they will decide to conform their lives to the Word of God. If you are not a pastor, you may still benefit from reading this book. Even better still, you can buy one and pass it on to your pastor. This book is the beginning of a conversation with those who have been called to serve God as ministers. We trust that the conversation will continue. In the future, we hope to run training sessions for pastors. When you hear of such, please attend and, if you are a person in charge of other ministers, please release them to attend. May the Lord bless this book and open the eyes of many pastors and those aspiring to be pastors.

Professor P.V. Ntintili

Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa

June 2019

Introduction

Ministers have the misfortune of having the responsibility of encouraging and praying for everybody, yet of having no one to encourage and pray for them. To be a minister can be a lonely job and most ministers quietly suffer from depression, as, it is believed was the case with Elijah, Jeremiah and many other biblical characters. The challenge for ministers is not only that they lack people to uphold and encourage them, but also that they are often objects of fierce criticism. When they do well, they are adulated, yet, when things do not go well, they are vilified and almost crucified. It takes fortitude to be a minister. Those ministers who have people who privately pray for them are very fortunate indeed.

The other challenge of ministers is that the standard, when it comes to their behaviour, is highly elevated, and correctly so, because they are representatives of heaven. People expect a lot from them and, when they fail, many people are bitterly disappointed. What is frightening about being a minister is that, when a minister defects or backslides, many people follow him or her. When Peter decided to go back to fishing, we are told that six other disciples followed him (John 21:1–3). Zech. 13:7 says: Smite the shepherd and scatter the sheep. When a minister misbehaves, his misbehaviour adversely affects many people. Conversely, when a minister behaves well, many other people are positively affected; he or she becomes a healthy role model. The life and character of ministers are extremely important to the purposes of God. When ministers fail, the purposes of God fail and, when they do well, the purposes of God prosper. It behoves ministers, therefore, to implore God to help them for the sake of His name and His purpose. God is able to help them if they cry to God about it.

Another serious challenge of ministers is that, whereas what is important with other professions is their expertise and skills, with ministers, what is important is their life or character. It is possible, though it ought not to be the case, for other professionals to separate their work from their personal lives. One could become a brilliant scientist and an immoral man. However, with ministers, it is not possible for them to separate their work and their life. They minister, not only out of what they know, but also, even more importantly, out of who they are. When ministers carry out their work, they are pushing their own lives and what impacts people is not their preaching and teaching, but their own life. Therefore, they need to make sure that they live correct lives. Otherwise, they will contaminate other people’s lives. Christ says of wrong Jewish ministers, the Pharisees: Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. For ministers, the matter of character is extremely important. That is why Paul said, in Acts 20:28, to ministers who came from Ephesus that they must watch their lives and that of the flock they were shepherding. Their own lives take priority over the lives of others. They must watch their lives first and then the lives of other people.

To be a minister carries with it a grave responsibility. It is clear that to be a minister is not for people who are immature; physically, intellectually, socially and spiritually. That is why the Bible says that ‘a novice’ should never aspire to be a minister (1 Tim. 3:6). I have seen, in my years in the ministry, disasters that were triggered by ministers who were immature. It is a pity that, today, those who have failed in life think that ministry is the easiest way out. This is to cheapen such a lofty calling.

This book is written for ministers. It is hoped that there is a lot they will glean from it. Regarding those who, after reading it, realise that they are not fit for this very important calling, it is hoped that they will resign and find something else they are fit for and then continue to serve God, not as ministers, but in that suitable calling for them. Regarding those who know that they have definitely been called to the ministry, it is hoped that they will pull up their socks and raise the standards. What is important is not primarily their skills, though they are needed. I pray that this book will truly help those who are engaged in this noble task. May this book help them to serve God acceptably (Rom. 15:31; 1 Pet. 2:5). My plea to those who read the book is that they must read it reflectively and endeavour to put into practise what they read from it. I truly honour those who have laid down their lives in order to serve God and His people. May the hand of God be upon everyone who is truly called to be a minister!

Chapter 1

The Centrality of Ministers in God’s Purposes

God believes in ministers more than they believe in themselves. He deems them so central to His purpose that He is willing to shelve His plans until He finds a suitable minister whom He could involve in what He wants to do on earth. God wanted to liberate His people from Egypt and He says about this: I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. Please notice the statement ‘I am concerned about their suffering’. The Contemporary English Version says: I am sorry for them. Despite God’s concern, it took Him 430 years to liberate the children of Israel from Egypt; they were in captivity for this long (Ex. 12:40; cf. Gal. 3:17). The reason is that He was waiting for a suitable leader (minister) to emerge whom He could use. In Isa. 63:11, we are told that Moses ‘shepherded God’s people’ from Egypt to the Promised Land (see Ps. 77:20). He was a shepherd of God’s people. Before He could release them from Egyptian bondage, God was waiting for a suitable person who would tenderly and graciously shepherd His people across that merciless desert that devoured many of them.

There are many other Scriptures that clearly show that God prefers to wait until He finds a correct minister. In Jer. 5:1, God says ‘Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem’ and look for someone who ‘deals honestly and seeks the truth’. If such a person is found, God is offering to forgive the iniquities of the city. From the context, such a person would be someone with a pastoral heart and who cries to God on behalf of the people. A person with such a heart would be a pastor. Our people are destroyed, because there is no person with a pastor’s heart who would intercede for the people of God. In Ez. 22:30, God says that He did not wish to destroy the city and He looked for a man who would stand as a buffer between the people who had aggrieved God and God’s wrath. Unfortunately, He found none. In the Message Bible, the last words of Verse 22 are: I couldn’t find anyone. Not one. Then Verse 31 goes on to say: So I’ll empty out my wrath on them, burn them to a crisp with my hot anger, serve them with the consequences of all they’ve done. Decree of GOD, the Master. This reminds us of Sodom and Gomorrah and Abraham, who tried to stand in the gap between these two cities and God. He kept interceding on their behalf and the tragedy is that there was no one with a good standing with God to act as a buffer between God and man.

On the other hand, I think of Moses, who interceded for the Israelites when they sinned against God. In Ex. 32:10, God told Moses that He has decided to destroy the entire nation of Israel and to start a new nation out of Moses. In Verses 11–13, Moses passionately interceded for them. The Bible tells us that God relented. Verse 14 says: Then the LORD relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened. This shows the importance and the centrality of God’s ministers in God’s purposes on earth. That is why He has to get ministers after His own heart.

To underscore the centrality of ministers in God’s programme on earth, the Bible says in Amos 3:7: Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. When one reads the prophets of the Old Testament, one notices how God would tell them what He intended to do long in advance; sometimes centuries in advance. For example, He told the prophet Isaiah that Christ would be born by a virgin. This happened just as God had said. He also told Micah exactly where Christ would be born. This was about 700 years in advance. Some prophets were told by God what would happen to other nations such as Egypt, Babylon, Syria, Tyre and Sidon, etc. Some prophets were told what God intended to do to the northern kingdom of Israel and others were told what God planned to do to the southern kingdom of Judah. Some prophets were told what was going to happen to the world as whole in the end times. These were eschatological prophets such as Daniel and Apostle John. Paul himself spoke elaborately, in many of his books, about what would take place in the end-times (see 1 Thess. 4:13–18; 2 Thess. 2:1–10; 1 Tim. 4:1–3; 2 Tim. 3:1–9). I am stressing the fact that ministers are central to what God intends to do on earth and He likes to include them in it.

The prophets of old were different from today’s prophets who are nothing less than soothsayers. They operate as witchdoctors, palm readers and fortune tellers who tell people what they want to hear. They prophesy in order to be loved and to receive money and other desirable material goods. They never tell people anything negative. Their prophecies are full of financial and material breakthroughs. What is disconcerting about many of today’s prophets is that what they say to one person, if you follow them, is the same thing they will say to five others. There are rare exceptions though. For example, there is man called Paul Cain who had incredible prophesied of earthquakes and the size of those earthquakes and they happened just as he had predicted. Prophets of this ilk are rare.

We have quoted Amos 3:7 where the Bible says that God does not do anything without divulging its secret to His servants, the prophets. The Bible is replete with instances of God alerting His servants of what He intended to do. In Genesis 6, God told Noah what He intended to do and how He would do it. He told him what to do to obviate the impending disaster and he believed God and obeyed Him. When He told people that there was going to be a flood, they scorned and derided him. It had never rained before and they could not even imagine what God was saying. Heavy rains that resulted in a deluge did come. The point I am raising is that God kept this man apprised of what He intended to do. We are all acquainted with the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and how God told Abraham what He intended to do there. In Gen. 18:17, God said that He would not hide from Abraham what He intended to do. In 1 Kings 22:19–23, God showed Micaiah what was happening in heaven. This is when he was shown that a spirit of lying was going to enter false prophets and they would mislead Ahab to go to a war in which he would die. In 2 Kings 3:17–20, the prophet Elisha predicted two things; that there was going to be rain in Israel and that Moab was going to be defeated by Israel and her allies. 2 Kings 6 reports how God would inform Elisha what the King of Aram was plotting in his bedroom. There are countless examples of ministers of God who were informed by God what He intended to do and what their role was going to be. Ps. 25:14 says that God ‘confides in those who fear Him’ (see Pro. 3:22). Speaking to His disciples, Christ told them that He no longer regarded them as servants, but as friends, because He was divulging what His business on earth was.

The point I am belabouring in his chapter is the centrality of ministers in the purposes of God. Everything that God intends to do on earth revolves around ministers. The first thing God wants to do is to save sinners. The Bible tells us that God is not willing that any person should perish, but wants all people to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9). The plan of salvation, though, is handed over to His ministers. They are the ones who preach the message of salvation. In Luke 24:47, Christ says to His disciples: And repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. He committed the responsibility of ensuring that people are saved to His servants, the ministers. In John 20:23, He tells them that, if they forgive people their sins, they are forgiven. If they do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. In Matt. 16:19, He gives them the keys of the kingdom of God. This is a very frightening responsibility. What it means is that, if there are people who fail to make it to heaven, God will hold ministers responsible for it.

What is regrettable, though, is that there are so many things in which ministers are engaged in which God is not engaged. The salvation of souls is the paramount matter in which they should be involved. God says something that is very frightening in Ez. 3:18: When I say to a wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. God wants all people to be saved and He sent His Son, Christ, to come and provide the way of salvation (John 3:16–17). However, He has committed the message of salvation to His servants; ministers. Paul says that God was in Christ ‘reconciling the world unto Himself’. He goes on to say that God has committed the message of reconciliation to us; His servants. Ministers are central to God’s plan of salvation.

The second matter God is interested in is the spiritual growth of those who have committed their lives to Christ. God also wants those who are saved to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. He wants them also to be trained for effective service to Him and His kingdom. Again, He has relegated this programme of training those who are converted to Christianity to ministers. If people are not properly trained and they are not growing in their faith, those to blame are ministers. God has committed to ministers the programme of discipleship, which is effective in fostering spiritual growth. The Great Commission found in Matt. 28:18–20 has been committed to ministers and, when they are not discipling their members, they are abdicating their central responsibility. We often speak of the fivefold ministry of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. These are ministers who occupy these various offices. The question we rarely ask is: What is the duty of these ministers? Verses 12–15 spell out what their responsibilities are. In Verse 12, we are told that they are to ‘prepare God’s people for works of service so that the church is built up’. Those who are responsible for building up the Church are the members. However, those who must train them for effective service are ministers. Verse 13 says that they must help these saints to reach maturity. The Amplified version describes this maturity as: Mature manhood (the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ’s own perfection. Verse 15 tells us that these people whom ministers are raising up must ‘grow up, in all things, into Him who is the Head, that is Christ’. God wants all people who become Christians to be ‘conformed to the image of His Son’ (Rom. 8:29). It is the responsibility of ministers to make sure that those they lead are actually conformed to the image of Christ. God wants His people to grow and the responsibility of that lies with ministers.

The third matter God is interested in is the growth of the Church; He wants to build His Church and to expand His kingdom on earth. It is the responsibility of ministers to ensure that the Church is growing. It is also their responsibility to ensure that the kingdom of God is expanding and growing. Christ told His disciples to ‘seek first the kingdom of God’. When they put the kingdom of God first, other things would be added to them (Matt. 6:33). Christ charged the disciples, who became apostles, to preach the Gospel of the kingdom of God (Matt. 24:14). Christ stressed that He was building His Church and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. We, too, must be engaged in building up the Church. Instead of building the Church of God, we are building our own churches and we even attach our names to them. That is why we have no problem in bequeathing our churches to our children. We are also building our own kingdoms instead of building the kingdom of God. We are woefully failing in our responsibilities as ministers. This must change.

The fourth programme of God on earth is to transform communities and nations. It is Christ who stated that His believers were the ‘light of the world and salt of the earth’. Light and salt are very effective change agents. The light dispels darkness and salt is supposed to arrest decay and promote preservation. Ministers are supposed to be change agents and they are supposed to raise change agents who transform their communities and nations. If ministers were executing their responsibilities, the crime rate would have reduced rather significantly in the areas in which God has deployed them. God is relying on them to radically transform their communities and nations. If they are failing to do this, they have become irresponsible.

Fifth, God wants to prepare people for the Second Coming of Christ. The Bible tells us that Christ is coming to gather the saints unto Himself. It is the duty of ministers to prepare those under them to meet Christ when He comes. 1 John 3:3 tells us that those who have hope to participate in the Second Coming of Christ must purify themselves even as Christ is pure. It is the responsibility of ministers to help their members to live clean and pure lives. The Bible says in Eph. 5:27 that God wants us to be ‘without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless’ at the coming of Christ. We must be presented to Him being unblemished, holy and blameless. It is the duty of ministers to prepare a church that is without spot or wrinkle. They do this through the preaching and teaching of the unadulterated Word of God. When they fail to do this, they are negligent of their primary responsibility.

Sixth, God wants all people to labour for revival. Revival is the move of God on earth that results in people getting saved in large numbers. It is the responsibility of ministers to read extensively on revival; the very thing God wants. There are many books on spiritual revival and ministers would do well to read on this very important topic. Ministers are supposed to mobilise and zealously labour for revival and it must start with them and their families. Then it must spread to other Christians until the whole community of believers under their care has been affected by it. This must be primary in the duties of pastors.

What is notable is what I have said in the beginning of this chapter that ministers are pivotal in God’s plans for the earth. That is