A Ministry of Presence

As I have matured and grown older, both in age and faith, I have come to understand that there are different kinds of ministries.  There are the most obvious and well known types such as pasturing a church, serving on a church committee, being a missionary, etc., but within the past six months, I have been introduced to a different, not as obvious, type of ministry: A Ministry of Presence.

I was first introduced to this concept of a Ministry of Presence a few months ago when I was discussing a worship service held at Jacksonville State University’s Wesley Foundation. As a resident at the Wesley Foundation, I was discussing the low attendance for that night’s Mosaic with some of my peers and the campus minister. The concern and disappointment over the low turnout inspired mine and my peers’ conversations that night; as we were discussing, someone briefly mentioned how much of an impact someone’s presence can be. Our campus minister went on to explain what an effective ministry and opportunity a Ministry of Presence can be.

Our campus minister explained it like this: a Ministry of Presence can be as simple as showing up to an event. For example, when the Wesley Foundation hosts their weekly worship service, Mosaic, it means a lot to have several people in the room. Presence holds value because new people that come to the worship service are welcomed more by a room full of people rather than by an empty, cold room. This concept made sense. As a former “follower,” I would never go anywhere alone. I was terrified of having to be outgoing. I could relate to how much more welcoming a room full of people is than an empty one where only one person seems to be in attendance.

So after this first mention of Ministry of Presence, I also began seeing this concept “pop-up” in other areas of my life. Also at the Wesley Foundation this past semester, I taught a bible study on Monday nights based on the book by Gary Chapman entitled, The Five Love Languages. Two of the love languages—Acts of Service and Quality Time—come into play concerning Ministry of Presence. Not only do these relate to our love lives, but they also spill over into our relationships with our friends and family. Let me explain. When someone you know loses someone they love due to death, often times we spend time with that person in order to comfort them and to help make them feel better; I would call this comfort session Quality Time. However, if an acquaintance loses someone they love due to death, it is often times common for us to attend a funeral in recognition of the friend’s loss; this is what I would consider an Act of Service. You are showing your friend (or whoever) that you acknowledge their loss by being PRESENT at the funeral home—hence, Ministry of Presence.

With all of that being said about Ministry of Presence, I have not fully understood or comprehended what exactly this ministry encompassed until this past December. Let me explain. My fiancé, Kyle, has had a rough semester both with school and with his family life. His older brother was recently admitted to drug rehab for taking prescription pain medication, and due to his admittance into rehab, he was not able to attend all of the holiday functions as he normally did in his past 25 years. He missed Thanksgiving, Christmas, his 26^th Birthday, and New Year’s, and although Kyle would not take his brother’s presence over his health and safety, he still missed his brother during the usually fun and joyous holiday season. So, needless to say, the holidays for Kyle were rough. So, on Christmas Eve, Kyle’s granny always hosts their family’s festivities, and Kyle and I had just turned down the road he and his granny lived on. I looked at him as we drove down that road, and I fully understood what it meant to embody a Ministry of Presence. I knew that there was nothing I could do or say to make the Christmas season of 2010 any better—nothing was going to fill the absence of his brother. The best and only thing I could do for Kyle was to be in his presence. He needed me—My Ministry of Presence.