ministry Hear it!

ministry Definition

min·is·try (min′is trē)

noun pl. -·tries

    1. the act of ministering, or serving; ministration
    2. that which serves as a means; agency
    1. the office, function, tenure, or service of a religious minister
    2. ministers of religion collectively; clergy
    1. the department under a minister of government
    2. the term of office of such a minister
    3. the building or buildings of such a department
    4. the ministers of a particular government as a group

Etymology: ME mynysterie < L ministerium < minister, minister

ministry Synonyms

ministry

n.

  1. The functions of the clergy

    pastoral care, preaching, exhortation, administration of the sacraments, prayer, spiritual leadership, service.

  2. The clergy

    the cloth, clergymen, ecclesiastics, clerics, the clerical order, priesthood, the pulpit, clericals, prelacy, vicarage, the desk, clergy.

  3. A department of state

    bureau, administrative agency, executive branch; see department 2.

ministry Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • reconciliation: That's why we can speak of a ministry of reconciliation.
  • deacon: This might suggest a great diversity of roles as appropriate within the ministry of the deacon.
  • evangelism: The church has a long-time commitment to the ministry of evangelism, through the former vicar, Canon John Collins.
  • bishop: The Church of England, however, maintained the Catholic parish system and the traditional threefold ministry of bishop, priest and deacon.

Converse of object

  • ordain: I have been in full time ordained ministry in the Church of England for nearly two years.
  • exercise: The Spirit of God is unwilling to exercise a partial ministry.
  • lay: In addition to the Foundation Certificate the College provides training for specialized lay ministries.

Adjective modifier

  • earthly: Instead, during his earthly ministry, Jesus is without any visible means of support.
  • pastoral: It is a pleasant environment with a pastoral ministry.
  • priestly: This function is an integral part of the priestly ministry, setting them apart from the common people.
  • stipendiary: Moving to be with us she will be entering full-time stipendiary ministry.
  • prophetic: Neither Patel nor the woman knew about the prophetic ministry at that time.
  • diaconal: It was clear from the debate that work remains to be done to ensure the effective use of diaconal ministry.

Modifies a noun

spokesman: A ministry spokesman said: " A work contract of this kind is a strictly private affair and is the decision of Mr Stange.

Noun used with modifier

  • deliverance: There was prayer, exorcism, deliverance ministry and heavy shepherding.
  • preaching: In this way people can be encouraged to think for themselves and benefit from the preaching ministry.
  • gospel: Paul's team have a proven track record of gospel ministry.
  • circuit: His active circuit ministry was spent primarily in the North-West of England.
  • healing: From reading the Gospels it's clear that faith played an important part in Jesus ' healing ministry.
  • multicultural: In addition, the Committee agreed to sponsor a URC national consultation on multicultural ministry in the near future.