By an ICC Board Member

The book of Acts gives us more than a record of church history — it unveils the way God works in and through his people. What may seem like random events of persecution, breakthrough, or worship are in fact woven together into a divine pattern. When the church faced hardship, it was not the end of their story, but the beginning of God’s intervention.

In Acts 12, we see King Herod rising up in pride and violence, stretching his hand out against the church. James is martyred, and Peter is thrown into prison. At first glance, it looks as if the purposes of God are being silenced. But heaven was not shaken — instead, the church was called into its first assignment: intercession. They gathered in homes, they lifted their voices, and they cried out to the Lord. Before any breakthrough, before any angel appeared, before any chains fell, the church prayed.

Then God moved. He sent his angel to release Peter. In the same chapter, we see the hand of God strike Herod down in an instant. What no human could orchestrate, God accomplished by his own authority. Intercession opened the door, and God’s power flowed through.

And notice the sequence: after persecution, after intercession, after divine intervention, we come to Acts 13, where the church is found ministering to the Lord. This is no coincidence. The Spirit is showing us a rhythm for the people of God: intercession first, God’s breakthrough second, and worship at the center. From that place of ministering to the Lord came direction, sending, and mission to the nations.

This same pattern is being highlighted for us today. We are living in times where “Herods” oppose the purposes of God, but he will deal with them in his time. Our part is to take up the call to intercession and to align ourselves with ministering to him. Out of this posture will flow the next great move of his Spirit.

The book of Acts records a moment that quietly reshaped the history of the church and the future of the world. In Acts 13:1-2, we read:

“Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, ‘Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.’”

This passage, if read too quickly, can seem like a simple historical note. But hidden in these verses is one of the great turning points of Christian history. From this gathering in Antioch, the first great wave of missionary expansion began. The gospel was about to break beyond the Jewish world and take root in the Gentile nations. Barnabas and Saul (later Paul) would carry the name of Jesus into Asia Minor, Greece, and ultimately toward Rome, laying the foundations of global Christianity.

What is striking, however, is the setting in which this great movement begins. This is not a conference of mission experts strategizing how to reach unreached peoples. This is not a seminar on cross-cultural engagement or evangelistic techniques. The Spirit does not break in while they are drafting plans or designing maps. Instead, the Spirit speaks while the church is engaged in something far simpler, and in today’s terms, almost unusual: they were ministering to the Lord.

This is the phrase that captures our attention. What does it mean to minister to the Lord? Most of us are familiar with ministering for the Lord — serving others in his name, proclaiming the gospel, feeding the poor, preaching sermons, or teaching Scripture. We think of ministry as something directed outward, from us to the world. But here, the text shows us ministry directed upward, to God himself.

Luke, the author of Acts, describes this not as a program but as a posture. The leaders of the Antioch church gathered not to strategize, but to worship, to pray, to fast, to bless the Lord. In that environment — when God himself was the focus, not human agendas — the Spirit gave the clearest direction: “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul.”

This should immediately provoke us to reflection. If the greatest missionary movement in history was born not out of human planning but out of worship, what does that mean for us? Could it be that many of our ministries struggle because we begin with man rather than God? Could it be that heaven’s agenda is revealed not to those who are busiest, but to those who are most surrendered in worship?

The Antioch moment teaches us that mission flows out of ministering to the Lord. The church did not “decide” to send missionaries. God himself decided, and he spoke when his people were before him in reverence and adoration. The power of the gospel to the nations began not with a committee, but with a group of worshipers.

1. Ministering to the Lord: What Does It Mean?

The phrase “ministering to the Lord” is unusual. We are far more accustomed to hearing about ministering for the Lord or ministering to people in the Lord’s name. But Luke tells us in Acts 13 that the prophets and teachers in Antioch “ministered to the Lord.”

To understand this, we need to ask a simple but searching question: How does one minister to God? After all, he has no needs. He is not hungry, tired, or lacking in any way. So, what does it mean to serve him?

The answer lies in worship. To minister to the Lord is to give him what he deserves — glory, honor, thanksgiving, adoration. It is to declare his attributes, to proclaim his greatness, to magnify his faithfulness, to exalt his name. It is not fundamentally about asking him to meet our needs; it is about acknowledging his worth.

In many ways, this language echoes the Old Testament. The Levites in the tabernacle and later the temple were said to “minister to the Lord.” Their priestly service was directed not toward people first but toward God — through offerings, sacrifices, songs, and the recitation of his mighty works. Even apart from sacrifices, the core of their ministry was to bless the Lord, to attend to his presence, and to exalt his holiness.

In Antioch, the church took up this same posture. Instead of beginning with a list of petitions, they began with adoration. Instead of organizing strategies for mission, they gathered to pour out love and devotion to the one who sits enthroned in heaven. In a sense, they did what the Psalms repeatedly command:

• “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:2).
• “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness” (Psalm 29:2).
• “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4).

This ministry to the Lord is not about giving him something he lacks but about responding rightly to who he is. It is about speaking his truth back to him in gratitude and praise. It is about aligning our hearts with his majesty, allowing our words and songs and tears to rise like incense before his throne.

Notice also what ministering to the Lord is not. It is not simply asking for blessings. It is not primarily focused on needs, problems, or even ministry goals. Too often, when we gather to pray, our meetings turn into long lists of requests — many of them about physical health, comfort, or provision. While God cares about those things, such prayers can become centered on man’s needs rather than God’s glory. Ministering to the Lord shifts the center. It makes God himself the focus, not ourselves.

When the Antioch church ministered to the Lord, they were not trying to manipulate him into action. They were not demanding answers or forcing direction. They were giving themselves in worship, fasting, and prayer — not to get something from him, but to give something to him. And it was in this posture that God chose to speak.

This distinction is crucial. Many of us think of ministry as something we do for others. But true ministry begins by being directed toward God. Before Paul and Barnabas could minister to the nations, they had to minister to the Lord. Before mission was birthed, worship was established. Before God sent them out, he drew them in.

This is a challenge for us today. How often do we come before God without an agenda, without petitions, without demands, simply to worship? How often do we gather as leaders or as churches for the sole purpose of blessing his name? Too often our prayers are brief, functional, and man-centered. Ministering to the Lord calls us higher. It calls us to fix our eyes on his majesty, to linger in his presence, and to make him, not our work, the focus.

And here lies a mystery: when God becomes our focus, he entrusts us with his work. When we stop striving to control outcomes, he reveals his will. The Antioch church did not plan the missionary journeys of Paul. They worshiped, and God spoke. Out of adoration came direction. Out of worship came mission.

This is the heart of ministering to the Lord — to honor him as he deserves, to love him for who he is, and to let mission flow out of worship rather than the other way around.

2. The Old Testament Roots

To truly grasp the meaning of “ministering to the Lord” in Acts 13, we must look back to the Old Testament, where this language first appears. The early church in Antioch did not invent this phrase; they inherited it from Israel’s history with God.

The Priestly Model of Ministry

The Levites were set apart to serve in the tabernacle and later the temple. Their service was described as ministering to the Lord. This involved several duties: tending to the altar, caring for the lampstands, arranging the bread of the presence, offering incense, singing psalms, and leading the people in worship. While they certainly carried out tasks that blessed Israel, their ultimate responsibility was directed upward — to God himself.

For example, in Deuteronomy 10:8, we read:

“At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day.”

Notice that their first role was not to manage the people but to stand before the Lord, to minister unto him. Similarly, in 1 Chronicles 16:4, we are told that David appointed Levites “to minister before the ark of the LORD, to invoke, to thank, and to praise the LORD, the God of Israel.”

These priests and Levites were called not only to perform sacrifices, but also to offer spiritual service: thanksgiving, praise, and proclamation of God’s attributes. Their ministry was not transactional — as though God needed food or fuel — but relational. It was about honoring his presence, acknowledging his holiness, and blessing his name.

Psalms as the Vocabulary of Worship

The Psalms provide the clearest example of this kind of ministry. They are filled with language that ministers directly to God:

• “Bless the Lord, O my soul” (Psalm 103:1).
• “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalm 34:1).
• “Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth” (Psalm 96:1).

In these songs, Israel learned how to exalt God — not just to ask for help, but to lift up his character, his works, his faithfulness. This is ministry directed upward, where the focus is not man’s need but God’s glory.

When the church in Antioch gathered and “ministered to the Lord,” it is likely that their prayers and songs echoed this psalmic tradition. They may have spoken aloud the praises of God’s holiness, his deliverance, and his covenant faithfulness. They may have alternated in prayer, one declaring God’s mercy, another his power, another his steadfast love. In doing so, they were standing in the long stream of priestly worship that had always defined the people of God.

3. Fulfillment in Christ

Of course, the sacrificial aspect of Old Testament ministry was fulfilled in Christ. He is the great High Priest who offered himself once for all (Hebrews 7:27). The blood of bulls and goats is no longer needed. Yet, the principle of ministering to the Lord in worship remains. In fact, it is heightened.

Peter writes that the church is now “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9). Every believer is invited into the priestly calling to minister to God. We are no longer spectators of a priestly caste; we are participants in a priestly people. Our sacrifices are not animals but “the sacrifice of praise” (Hebrews 13:15), the offering of ourselves as “living sacrifices” (Romans 12:1).

This is the continuity between the Old and New Testaments. What the Levites modeled in shadow, the church now fulfills in reality. Ministering to the Lord is not an occasional ritual; it is the calling of every believer, every church, every gathering.

The Key Insight

When we understand the Old Testament roots, Acts 13 becomes even more striking. The Antioch church was not doing something new or trendy. They were simply stepping into the ancient calling of God’s people: to stand before him, to minister to him, to exalt his name. And just as the Levites’ worship carried power in Israel’s story, so too the worship of Antioch carried power for the birth of world missions.

The point is clear: mission begins with priesthood. Sending begins with worship. Direction flows out of adoration. Just as Israel’s priests ministered to the Lord in the temple and in song, so the early church ministered to him in prayer and praise — and in that posture, God released his purpose.

4. Why Do We Miss It?

When we read Acts 13 and see the church “ministering to the Lord,” many of us feel a gap between what the Antioch believers experienced and what we commonly experience in our churches today. Their gathering seems strange to us because, in truth, much of our modern practice has drifted from this God-centered focus.

Prayer Meetings that Center on Us

For example, when most churches announce a “prayer meeting,” what usually happens? We gather, share requests, and then spend the majority of the time asking God to meet needs — often physical or material ones. Much of the prayer revolves around keeping the sick alive, resolving financial struggles, or addressing everyday problems. While God cares about those things, such meetings can become overwhelmingly man-centered.

Contrast this with Antioch. There is no record of them presenting requests for provision, protection, or comfort. Instead, they are simply described as ministering to the Lord — fasting, worshiping, blessing his name. The focus is entirely upward, not outward.

If we are honest, many of our prayer meetings today could better be described as petitions rather than worship. We have not learned the habit of gathering before God without an agenda, simply to exalt him. In this sense, our practices have dulled our sense of God’s majesty.

Worship Services that Entertain Men

The same is true of much of our worship. Too often, worship services are designed with people in mind rather than God. We ask questions like: Did people enjoy the music? Did the service make them feel encouraged? Did the songs suit their taste? These are not inherently wrong concerns, but they miss the primary point: worship is not for us, but for God.

In Antioch, God himself was the audience. The leaders ministered not to one another’s preferences but to the Lord’s glory. Their songs, their prayers, their fasting — all were directed toward him. If he was pleased, the gathering had fulfilled its purpose.

Missions That Begin with Strategy Instead of Worship

Even in the realm of mission, we often get things backwards. Many mission conferences highlight the desperate needs of the world: unreached peoples, lost souls, and nations without a gospel witness. These are real concerns. But if we make human need the primary motivation for mission, we miss something vital.

Scripture presents a deeper motivation: God is not being worshiped where he deserves to be worshiped. The ultimate reason for mission is not first the need of man, but the glory of God. The greatest tragedy in the world is not that people are going to hell, but that God is not being honored as he should be.

If this truth gripped us, our gatherings would change. Missions would no longer be about fulfilling a project or solving a problem; it would be about restoring worship where it is absent. It would be about seeing Christ exalted among every tribe and tongue.

Why This Feels Foreign

Why does this idea feel so foreign to us? Because we have been shaped by a culture of pragmatism and man-centered thinking. We measure success by numbers, strategies, and results. We often treat worship as a warm-up to preaching, or prayer as a tool for problem-solving. But Antioch teaches us otherwise: worship itself is the starting point. Prayer itself is ministry to the Lord.

Our challenge is to recover this posture. Imagine if church leaders regularly gathered with no agenda except to magnify God. Imagine if entire congregations learned to delight in his presence without rushing to requests. Imagine if our mission boards began with worship before they began with planning. Would not the Spirit speak to us more clearly? Would we not hear his direction as Antioch did?

A Needed Correction

Thus, Acts 13 is not only an inspiring story; it is also a critique of our modern practice. We have turned prayer into a request session. We have turned worship into entertainment. We have turned mission into management. In doing so, we have sometimes missed the heart of it all: ministering to the Lord.

The correction is simple but profound: return to God as the center. Let worship be about him, not us. Let prayer begin with adoration, not demands. Let mission flow from the desire to see his name exalted, not merely from the urgency of need. When God becomes our focus, everything else will follow in proper order.

5. The Priority of Worship Before Mission

When we reflect on Acts 13, one truth stands out: mission was born out of worship. The Spirit did not speak during a strategy meeting, but during a gathering of worshipers. This teaches us a vital principle: before the church can reach the world, it must first reach upward to God.

Mission Flows from God’s Glory

In much of modern Christianity, we treat mission as the starting point. We rally believers by presenting statistics of unreached people groups, stories of lostness, or images of human suffering. These are real and stirring concerns. Yet if mission is built only on the urgency of need, it will eventually falter. Human compassion is limited. Numbers can overwhelm us. Guilt can exhaust us.

But when mission is built on worship — when it flows from the conviction that God deserves glory in every nation — it cannot be shaken. The worship of God is the only lasting fuel for mission. The nations must be reached not merely because people are perishing, but because God is not yet praised where he should be. The Great Commission is not ultimately man-centered; it is God-centered.

This is why John Piper famously said, “Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” The end goal of mission is worship. Every tribe and tongue gathered around the throne, declaring, “Worthy is the Lamb” (Revelation 5:12). Mission ends where worship is fulfilled.

The First Commandment Before the Second

Jesus summarized the law with two great commandments:

1. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
2. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

The order matters. The first commandment comes before the second. Love for God is the root; love for neighbor is the fruit. If we try to love people without first being consumed with love for God, our service becomes shallow and unsustainable. But if we begin with God — loving him, worshiping him, ministering to him — then love for neighbor flows naturally and powerfully.

In the same way, the Antioch church obeyed the first commandment before the second. They ministered to the Lord, and from that place God sent them to the nations. Worship preceded mission. Adoration birthed action.

Worship Clarifies Mission

Another reason worship must come first is that worship aligns us with God’s heart. In worship, our agendas are laid down. Our eyes are lifted from ourselves to him. Our spirits are softened to hear his voice.

Think of how easily mission can become man-driven. We can set goals, raise money, send teams, and yet miss God’s actual direction. But when worship is central, God himself directs the mission. In Antioch, the Spirit gave specific instructions: “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul.” This was not human decision-making; it was divine commissioning. Worship creates the space for God to reveal his will.

The Error of Reversing the Order

Too often, the modern church has reversed the order. We start with mission, and hope worship will follow. We strategize, then ask God to bless our plans. We rush to activity, then sprinkle worship on top. But Scripture shows the opposite: worship is the foundation, mission the overflow. When worship is neglected, mission becomes mechanical. When worship is prioritized, mission becomes Spirit-led.

A Call to Reorder

Therefore, we must recover this Antioch pattern. Churches must become worshiping communities first, sending communities second. Leaders must learn to linger before God in adoration before they rush into activity. Missionaries must learn that their first calling is to minister to the Lord, not merely to minister for him.

This is not wasted time. It is the most fruitful investment. The greatest missionary movement in history began not with urgency, but with worship. If we were to see God move in our day with similar power, we must put first things first. Worship before mission. God before goals. Adoration before action.

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