<>What is the Ministry of Helps?
What, exactly, is the "Ministry of Helps?" I am sure that if you came
out of a denominational church you are probably not
familiar with the term! This is due to the fact that the Bible teaching
concerning the Helps Ministry has been watered down and almost lost
until recently. The revival of the knowledge of the integrity and
validity of God’s Word in recent years has made every Bible subject
fresh and new! I am personally indebted to Dr. Doyle "Buddy" Harrison
for bringing me "up to speed" on this subject. In this article we
will explore the Helps Ministry and see it from the Word of God and
from what I have learned from Dr. Harrison as well as personal
experience.
Essentially, the Greek definition for the word "Helps" used in 1
Corinthians 12:28 is, "rendering practical aid and support." In a
nutshell, that is the Helps Ministry, to be a "practical aid and
support" to our pastors in support of their vision of
Faith and Victory Church!
In order to understand what the Helps Ministry is, let’s look at
some examples of Helps in action. For complete explanation of the
Ministry of Helps, see my Thesis at THIS LINK.
Helps in Action!
In the Old Testament, the Children of Israel are a "type" of
the church. (A "type" means an example, or "shadow" of the real.)
Look at it this way, Moses was the leader of the people that he
led out of Egypt, much as the Pastor is the leader of the local church.
The men that worked with him and supported his leadership was a "type"
of today’s Helps Ministry. In Numbers 11:14, Moses prays and
says, "I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too
heavy for me." He found himself unable to handle the day in and
day out responsibility of caring for all the Children of Israel, after
all, there were some five million of them! So, the Lord answered him,
"Gather unto Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest
to be the elders of the people, and officers over them, and bring them
unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with
thee. And I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it
upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that
thou bear it not alone." This was the Helps Ministry in action! A
portion of the anointing that was on Moses was transferred to the Helps
Ministry to get the job done. "One man with a vision can not get the
job done alone." I first heard this at the Faith Christian
Fellowship Helps Conference in 1980. Pastor Buddy Harrison ministered
on this and afterward laid hands on those that felt called into Helps
Ministry. I had no idea at that time that I would be Minister of
Helps at Faith and Victory Church later on, but God has used what I
have learned and been exposed to. That phrase has stuck with me,
"one man with a vision (the pastor) can’t get the job done alone."
Pastor Ed is called and supernaturally anointed as our pastor, but he
needs the Helps Ministry to help him bring the vision for Faith and
Victory to pass!
Let’s look at another record of Helps in the ministry of Moses. God
told Moses that as long as he held his hands high, then one particular
battle they fought would go well, but if he let his hands drop, the
enemy would win. Moses held his hands up, and the battle went well, but
as time went by, his strength began to wane, and his hands began to
drop! The battle started to turn for the enemy! Quickly Moses’ Helps
Ministers, Aaron and Hur, stepped in and put Moses on a rock so that he
could sit and rest, and held up his hands! In doing so, the
Children of Israel were able to defeat their enemies! You can read this
account in Exodus 17:12. Just as Aaron and Hur did in their day,
so the Helps Ministry at Faith and Victory "holds up the hands" of our
Pastor so that our church can win the victory and get it’s job done!
In the Book of Acts, in chapter 6, the young church was confronted with
a similar problem to the one Moses encountered. The leadership of
that day found that they were spending so much time taking care of the
natural aspects of caring for their people that they were neglecting
the Word of God and prayer! They, as did Moses before them,
anointed men to help in these natural areas of ministry. "Wherefore,
brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the
Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
But we (the leadership) will give ourselves continually to
prayer, and the ministry of the Word. And the saying pleased the
whole multitude." (Acts 6:3-5) Notice that the leadership was able to
better minister to the people of spiritual things, because the natural
things were handled by men anointed to do that work!
Helps Ministry in the Scripture
The Ministry of Helps is a scriptural thing. We have
seen it from "precept and example," now let’s look at the specific
mention of it in the Word. In the list of ministries that God has
placed in the Church in I Corinthians 12, it says, “And God hath set
some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly
teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps,
governments, diversities of tongues.” Note that this list does
not refer to “general” spiritual gifts; what are sometimes referred to
as the “simple gifts” of the Spirit listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10.
It is a listing of actual ministries set in the church by God.
In fact, an important point is that one can work in the ministry
of Helps without being called as a minister of Helps. How can
this be? Well, one could prophesy in a service using the “simple
gift” of prophecy, and that person would very likely NOT be a prophet!
In the same way, you can help in the local church and serve in
the Helps Ministry and yet not be called as a minister of Helps.
A minister of Helps is set apart and anointed for that work.
Anyone that is able and meets the qualifications can work in the
Helps Ministry.
I am sure that your local church
needs help as well! Get involved in your local church! The
Helps Ministry needs you!
Bill Bailey, Minister of Helps
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