Supporting full-time ministries

Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. (Gal 6:6 ESV)

God chooses leaders

The book of Numbers in the Old Testament gets its name from two censuses that were taken of God's people during their wanderings in the wilderness. The first was taken thirteen months after they left Egypt (Num 1:1–46) and the second was taken thirty-eight years later, just before they entered the promised land (Num 26:1–65).

The intervening chapters describe their journey and their grumblings and rebellion against God. One such instance is recorded in Num 17, where the people challenged Aaron's appointment as high priest.

To prove that God had chosen Aaron, Moses took twelve staffs, one for each of the tribes of Israel. On each of the staffs he wrote the name of the leader of a tribe. On Levi's staff he wrote Aaron's name. He then placed the staffs in the tent of meeting in front of the ark of the covenant law where God met with him.

God said that the staff belonging to the man he had chosen would sprout. When Moses entered the tent the next day Aaron's staff had not only sprouted, but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds—emphatic proof that God had chosen Aaron.

The Bible says that all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2Ti 3:16), so what can we learn from this event in Israel's history? It shows us that God chooses the leaders of his people.

For Aaron's staff to sprout, bud, blossom and produce almonds, God's power had to come upon that staff; for a Christian to become a church leader, God's power will have to come upon that person. Churches can appoint leaders, but unless God has chosen and empowered them they will never bear fruit in that role; they will just be dry staffs.

Full-time for God

Num 17:8 tells us that Aaron's staff represented the house of Levi. It wasn't just Aaron the people were complaining about, but the whole tribe of Levi.

At the beginning of Numbers, God announced that he had chosen the Levites to serve him in full-time ministry (Num 1:47–53; 3:5–10). Every male between the ages of twenty-five and fifty were to devote themselves to the service at the tent of meeting (Num 8:23–6).

Some members of the other tribes resented that appointment. Whether their resentment was due to a desire to be in full-time ministry themselves, or because they would have to support them financially, we don't know. It may have been both. Is there an equivalent to the Levitical tribe in the New Testament? Yes, there is.

Even though every Christian is called to serve God and has at least one function in the church (1Co 12:12–20), God still chooses individuals to serve him in full-time ministry today. They are Christ's gifts to the church, comprising apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (Eph 4:7–11). Their purpose is threefold (v12–3):

They do this, primarily, through the ministry of the Word.

Prayer and the Word

In Act 6:1–7 we read of a problem that arose in the church soon after Pentecost: some believers were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. That was a serious problem, but Jesus said that man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Mat 4:4).

Christians need spiritual food as well as physical food. The apostles said that it would not be right for them to neglect the ministry of the Word of God in order to wait on tables, so they gave that task to others and devoted themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word.

Others would supply those believers with physical food; they would supply the church with spiritual food. What was the result of their decision? The Word of God spread, the number of disciples increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith—the church grew significantly as a result.

Do we want to see God's church grow today? Then we should follow the principle taught in Act 6. Ministers of the Word of God should avoid all sidetracks and concentrate on what they are gifted to do. Paul wrote to Timothy:

Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. (1Ti 4:13–5)

Paul told Timothy not to neglect the gift God had given him—the ability to preach and teach the Word of God. He was to give himself fully to that task. By doing so he would refine his gift and make it even more effective. People would see his progress and the impact of his ministry would increase.

Think how important God's Word is:

The ministry of the Word of God is the most important ministry in the church, but it depends on prayer (Act 6:4). The preacher or teacher gets his message through prayer and his anointing through prayer (Eph 6:19–20). There are no short cuts.

In the seventeenth century Thomas Boston wrote:

'How wilt thou get a word from God if thou do not seek it? And how canst thou seek it but by earnest prayer? If otherwise, thou mayest get something that is the product of thy empty head to mumble over before the people, and spend a little time with them in the church. But O, it is a miserable preaching where the preacher can say, "Thus say I unto you, but no more"; and cannot say, "Thus saith the Lord." '

Have things changed since then? No. People don't come to church to hear men speak, they want to hear God speak. They want a word from the Lord; but that can only happen through prayer. Prayer and Bible study takes time, which is why the ministry of the Word is usually a full-time calling.

Paul's tent making

Under the old covenant God set apart the tribe of Levi to minister to him and to the people. It was a full-time calling. They were not to do any other work and were given no land in Canaan on which to grow crops. So how did they live?

In return for the work they did at the tent of meeting, God gave them the tithes of the herds, flocks and produce of the land his people presented as an offering to him (Lev 27:30–3; Num 18:21–4).

Tithing is not part of the new covenant God has made with us through the blood of his Son Jesus Christ (Luk 22:20), so how are full-time ministries supported today?

Don't you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. (1Co 9:13–4)

God has commanded that those who minister the Word of God should receive their living from their ministry. But if that is so, then why did Paul work as a tent maker?

In Act 18:1–5, we are told that when Paul first arrived in Corinth he provided for his needs by tent making. He did that out of necessity because he had no other means of support. But when Silas and Timothy brought him gifts from the churches in Macedonia, he devoted himself exclusively to preaching, which is what he had been called to do (1Co 9:16).

Paul established a church in Corinth and stayed with them for a year and a half, preaching the gospel and teaching them the Word of God (Act 18:7–11). But throughout that time they did not support him financially (2Co 11:7–9).

The preacher's rights

Later, he wrote to them:

This is my defence to those who sit in judgment on me. Don't we have the right to food and drink? Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas? Or is it only I and Barnabas who lack the right to not work for a living? (1Co 9:3–6)

The Bible doesn't tell us whether Paul was married, but he was stating a biblical principle: that those God chooses to serve him in full-time ministry should be supported financially by those they minister to. He continued:

Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink the milk? Do I say this merely on human authority? Doesn't the Law say the same thing? For it is written in the Law of Moses: 'Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.' Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Surely he says this for us, doesn't he? Yes, this was written for us, because whoever ploughs and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? (1Co 9:7–11)

Paul described himself as a spiritual soldier, one who had been fighting on the front line, battling with the powers of darkness to bring the gospel to Corinth. Should he have had to have done that at his own expense? No. He also described himself as a spiritual farmer, one who had sown spiritual seed among them in the hope of reaping a material harvest.

Those who minister the Word pass on to the people what they have received from the Lord, and it's a privilege to do that. Money should not be their motivation, but love and a desire to serve. However, God says that they should expect a material harvest from their ministry. Why? Because it's their livelihood; it's the work he has given them to do.

Supporting ministers of the Word

When Jesus sent his apostles out to preach the Word, he told them not to take any gold or silver or copper in their belts, 'for the worker is worth his keep (Mat 10:1–10).' Or, as he told the seventy-two: 'for the worker deserves his wages (Luk 10:1–9).' God views ministering his Word as work, and those he calls to perform that task should be kept by those they minister to.

Paul wrote to Timothy:

The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. (2Ti 2:6–7)

Most churches take up an offering to the Lord during their meetings. Those in full-time ministry in those churches should be the first to benefit from those offerings. Supporting their pastor or spiritual leader should be a congregation's first priority.

Those who minister the Word are Christ's gifts to the church (Eph 4:7–13). The Lord ministers to us through them. We give to the Lord when we give to them.

Accounts in heaven

Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. (Phi 4:17–9)

Paul was not in need when he wrote those words. He'd already been supplied by the people he was writing to. Not only were they supporting the ministries in their own church, they were helping to support his ministry as well.

He said that he didn't desire a gift from them, but that more be credited to their account. That means that everything we give to support full-time ministries in the church is recorded in heaven.

He said that their gifts were a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice that was pleasing to God. Do we want to please God? Then we should support full-time ministries that feed us spiritually, as the Holy Spirit leads us.

Paul assured them that as they supplied his needs, God would supply their every need through the riches of his glory in Jesus Christ.

Michael Graham
November 2007
Revised May 2026

Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version (Anglicised edition). Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica (formerly International Bible Society). Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. Scripture quotation marked (ESV) is from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), published by HarperCollinsPublishers, © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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