What is the "Ministry of Helps?"
By: Dr. Bill Bailey
(For more helpful information on the Ministry of Helps, go to our Helps Ministry.TV web site.)
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, "antilepsis",
and means "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 in the local church setting! 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 HERE.
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 in Greensboro, NC 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." My Pastor (Ed
Taylor) 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! And, it is
the same situation at any local church body!
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 of God. 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." (Emphasis mine.) 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 in a local
church.
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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