Service? Ministry? There's a dif?

I recently had to remind myself of the difference between service and ministry and why it matters to distinguish between the two actions.

To put it simply service is what one does, sometimes with other people, for others in the church. Ministry is what one does (hopefully) for others out there in the world of lost souls.

I started thinking about this because I hear so many examples of simple service being referred to as ministry. For example: at the church I used to attend there was a need for the church to run oversize golf carts between buildings to shuttle congregants around. This was referred to as the "golf cart ministry". Ministry? I think not. This is a simple act of service, which carries with it a great commitment, but it is not ministering to the souls of those who need to hear the gospel message.

Of course, the distinction is more traditional than actual because the word minister and all its associated forms is derived from the Latin for service, which would seem to contradict the definitions in our current discussion. The best explanation that I can offer is that we associate ministry with the work of clergy and that work is almost always involved in ministering to lost souls as well as ministering to the spiritual needs of the congregation. Service, on the other hand is seen as acts of humility, things that we do for and within the church family, usually with little or no recognition or compensation, monetary or otherwise. To put it another, slightly more crass but understandable way, ministry is usually deemed to be works performed by professionals, service is rendered by amateurs.

Either way, they are both important works.

I just think that we would do well to keep these distinctions in mind and try to exercise wisdom when we label our various efforts for the church as well as the world at large.