Going On To Perfection: A Disciple's Guide to Ministry: Advancing the Kingdom of God In Today's World Like Jesus Did.

In the years that I have been involved in ministry since 1988, I have met many Christians who have had a desire to serve the Lord in reaching out to their neighbors or their community, but they did not know how to do it. Many in the "church world" think that ministry is the exclusive responsibility of those who hold a title or stand behind a pulpit. But nothing could be farther from the truth. Every Christian is called to do the work of the ministry. It is not a suggestion or an option, or a vocational pursuit; it is an obligation. Some will balk at that statement, but while the Bible says that we are not saved by our works, we are saved to do good works Yes, you are called to ministry. You are called to serve God. Religion has substituted the Truth that is in Christ for a spectator mentality that most of the Body of Christ has bought into. Whether it is actually stated or not, the "lay person" in the church thinks that the man up front is the minister who is specially anointed by God to do the "spiritual" work. What is passed off and accepted as "church" today is NOT the Biblical model of the Church that Christ founded. In Matthew 28, the Lord commands His disciples to go and make disciples. He said that they were to teach those disciples to obey the things He had commanded them. And He had just commanded them to make disciples. Like the first disciples, we are all commissioned to make disciples, and in turn, to train them how to make disciples. If you have given your heart to Jesus, you are to be equipped to be a minister. Another word for "ministry" is "service". You have been saved from the darkness of sin to serve in the Kingdom of God and to be a light to this world. Most Christians I have met in my 30+ years in Christ are unaware that they have a Calling for ministry, and a responsibility to walk in that Calling, but they do. Christians who have been "saved" for 30 years still desire fed the milk of the Word of God, instead of maturing into their Calling. Many people cannot afford to go to a Bible college to become equipped for the call to ministry that they know they have, and to tell you the truth, you don't have to go to a seminary to fulfill God's Calling for your life. You just need to have a willing heart to trust God to equip you to do what He has called you to do. This book is the by-product of 30+ years of living a surrendered (albeit not a perfect) life for the Almighty God Who created us for Himself and redeemed us through the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. We have been blessed with the privilege of being trained by our Lord in the area of faith, evangelism, and one on one ministry in pastoral roles, and we desire to share that knowledge and understanding with our brothers and sisters throughout the U.S. and the world, to encourage and equip the saints to be effective laborers for the furtherance of the Kingdom of God in their community or work place or wherever their sphere of influence may be. This book is written for those true disciples who have willingly responded to the Call to ministry, and in order to go on to perfection or maturity, we need to be able to comprehend the depth of our capabilities, our authority and our responsibilities as ministers of God in Christ.