Ministry of Helps (Not a part of the Five-Fold Ministry)

I Cor     12:28
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.

DEFINITION:
The greek means "laying hold of", in the idea of grasping tightly and not letting go.  The idea here is that you grasp tightly to what God has laid in your heart to do, the way to serve, the way to love the Body of Christ. 

This is your door of ministry (service) to work your motivational gift, and thereby, find satisfaction, fulfillment, and fellowship in the work. 

You must recognize that all gifts are for giving to others.  A gift is not given to a person for his/her own selfish use.  As a matter of fact, most gifts will not manifest unless they are in the act of giving to others (i.e., loving others). 

1 Cor 12:7
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

So, you see, the gift is the channel of love, the flow of love, through you to others.  Your fulfillment (and your very life) is in the flow of the gift of love to others. 

The Helps Ministry presents opportunities to serve the others, in love, with your gifts, talents and abilities.  We believe that everyone in the body has a specific purpose and task assigned by the Lord. You may not be called to a fivefold ministry, but everyone has the ability to serve in the Ministry of Helps.  Helps can be thought of as

Having
Enough
Loving
People
Serving.

Matt 20:28
Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister,
and to give his life a ransom for many.

The Ministry of Helps is seen in the New Testament as one of helping the afflicted, the poor,
and the windows in need. 

Acts 6:1-8
And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. 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 will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch: Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.

This service or ministry is what is spoke of the motivational gift "ministry" (Rom 12:7).  Also, the greek word "diakonos" means "deacon" or "one who serves".  You should recognize that through the loving service of the Ministry of Helps:

• Order was brought,
• Allowing needs to be met,
• Allowing peace and unity to flow (i.e., agape love always removes strife),
• Allowing the Five Fold men of God to continue on their God-given purpose,
• Set an example for others to follow (and fellowship in),
• Facilitated increase and multiplication of people,
• Caused obedience to the faith, and
• Provided a training ground for moving further in the Lord and in the ministry.

Many times a particular Helps Ministry will be called an "auxiliary".  If a person wishes to be the head of an auxiliary, they should be:

• Of honest report,
• Full of the Holy Spirit,
• Full of wisdom,
• Full of faith,
• Not a novice, but one who has proven themselves faithful in attendance and service, and
• One who can submit to authority, follow instructions, and thereby be exercised in being given authority and giving instructions. 
• Should share the ministries' vision, or have a vision, for the auxiliary.

TYPE OF WORK:
Helps were to assist the five fold where needed.  This is seen as Elisha waited (ministered) on Elijah, cooking his food, and washing his hands, before Elisha received the double anointing.

                Phil       1:1
                Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus
                Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus
                which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

Notice in 1 Timothy 3, that Paul states guidelines for Bishops and deacons:

      (1) deacons were for ministering to the needs of the poor, afflicted, or
          widowed.  They were not to "rule" nor appoint the five fold, but to
          serve under them, even serving tables!  See Acts 6:1-8.  Note these
          men were men of faith and of wisdom, honest and baptized in the Holy
          Spirit before they started as deacons.  Stephen did great wonders and
          miracles (Acts 6:8), acting probably as a evangelist and teacher.
          Philip went on to be an evangelist.

      (2) the "music ministry" is a ministry of helps.

                II Kings   3:15-16
                But now bring me a minstrel.  And it came to pass, when the minstrel played,
                that the hand of the Lord came upon him.
                And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches.

                I Sam     16:23
                And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul,
                that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed,
                and was well, and the evil spirit  departed from him. 

      (3) the gift of helps would include also include items like cleaning up the church,
           moving the lawn, repairs, cooking, etc....


COMBINATION OF GIFTINGS:
Most likely gifts active in this work:
Motivational:         Ministry (i.e., to serve others), give.
Five Fold:             None (though a Five Fold minister can serve in Helps, Helps is
                            supposed to be assisting the Five Fold with their purpose)
Charismatic:          Could be any one or any combination of.


LOOK FOR:

• A heart's desire to "do" something "specifically".
• Does it with joy and commitment (passion).
• Encourages others to do...

EXAMPLE:
Examples include:

• Joshua serving Moses
• Dorcas (Acts 9:36-39)
• Widows indeed (1 Tim 5:10)
• Deacons Stephen and Phillip,  who were taking care of widows, orphans, poor.
• Hospital visitation (it is not the pastor's job, to pray for the sick, but to equip you to pray for the sick.)

COMMENTS:
Every ministry gift is a gift of giving.  Giving out what God places in you.  The gift of healing is not for the possessor of the gift, but for those to whom he ministers.  The gift of prophet or apostle is not for the possessor to receive those ministries, but to dispense or distribute as the Spirit of God directs.  God gives gifts to the church.  He stores those gifts in chosen reservoirs (divinely selected ones) so that the gifts may flow out of them to touch His people as He directs.  The gift is not theirs, they are but an executor of God's will, distributing the gifts of God as the Spirit of God directs.


One minister illustrates the Ministry of Helps with the following acronym:

H - having
E - enough
L – loving       
P - people
S - serving others

Having enough loving people serving others aptly expresses the intent of the word "helps".  Ministry takes work when properly supplied.  The more excellent the ministry, the more work required to maintain the excellence.  A vision cannot be borne on the shoulders of just one.  It carried by the hearts and hands of many.

Helps would be defined as the act of giving or supplying aid, assistance, remedy or relief as one who is actively involved in service of or supply of assistance to another.  A person not possessing one of the Five Fold Ministry gifts who through their assistance, service, aid, remedy, relief or direct intervention, make it possible or easier for the one possessing the ministry gift to operate that gift.

God gifts the Minister of Helps with a special love I Corinthians 13 and submissive spirit so that they may give themselves in service to a minister or ministry, performing whatever task possible to take the load off that minister or ministry. To free up the hands of the one they are helping; to lift up the weary hands of the one they are helping. To remove stumbling blocks, traps or pitfalls from the one they are helping; to cover with prayer and to provide a buffer or wall of covering for the one they are helping.

Helps fills voids, performs tasks, carries burdens, defends, assists, aids, remedies, repairs, covers, prepares and whatever else is necessary to provide ease for the gifts of God to flow unfettered in the Body of Christ, the local Church.

The Ministry of Helps is about serving, helping, following and covering.  It is work, but it provides great rewards. It is about serving and assisting so ministry can take place in someone else's life.  It is about making an investment in the life and ministry of others.

You are whatever you are today because of the service and commitment of others through the ages.  You are the recipient of their service and their commitment of service.  Will you now become a benefactor for those who follow you?  Will you make a place for others or simply enjoy the place others have made for you?

Many ministers today are burdened with the day to day tasks required to keep the ministry functioning.  Ministers are familiar with all the responsibilities and have become proficient at being all things to all people, while covering every thing possible that can go wrong or needs attention during a service.  Interestingly enough, that is not the mandate of their ministry.  The call of the ministry is to prayer and preaching of the word.  God has made provision for the many tasks that are required to keep the Church running efficiently and it is called the Ministry of Helps

But we that are the Five Fold ministry must make room for, organize, train, and encourage the Body of Christ to be engaged and active in the function of Helps. 

Acts 6:2-7 is the narrative of the beginning of the ministry of helps in the New Testament Church.  The ministry of waiting tables set the Apostles free to do the work of the Gospel and was the beginning of bringing order to the church.  This is one of the foundational scriptures, which demonstrates "helps" ministry in the New Testament Church.

A foundational example of the Ministry of Helps is found the Old Testament. Joshua led a battle against Amalek.  Moses covered the battle as God's anointed leader with his hands lifted to the Lord.  As long as the Ministry of Helps provided by Aaron and Hur physically held up Moses' hands, the spiritual work of ministry went forth and the battle was successful, but if they had allowed Moses hands to fall to his side, the battle would have been lost.

The Helps Ministry of Aaron and Hur allowed the plan and purpose of God to be fulfilled through Moses and Joshua.  One might ask which of the ministries was most important.
Was it Moses who God had given the leadership over Israel?  Was it Joshua who was charged to do battle and win? Was it Aaron and Hur, who provided support to Moses?
This is one of the great examples found in the scriptures of team ministry. 

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