Ministry means serving where I am

For the people in the eleventh chapter of Nehemiah, ministry involved a willingness to serve where they were. We need to strive to have that same willingness.
Let's start back in the book of Nehemiah . . .
Remember when the people returned from exile? The walls of the city were torn down and there were tons of rubble from the destruction and years of neglect. It was going to take a lot of work to clear the rubble and restore the city. Because it was the former capital, enemies would zero in on Jerusalem when it was restored, and make plans to attack it. Because there were no markets or businesses, there was very little economic opportunity in the city.
As a result, there were very few people who wished to live in the city. It was far easier to settle in the countryside surrounding Jerusalem and farm a plot of land. This meant that most of the Jewish people were content to live in the surrounding villages that were scattered across the land of their ancestors.

It was a different situation now: the temple had been re-established; the wall had been rebuilt; things were much more secure from potential attacks. Nehemiah knew that if the city was to be strong and prosperousand if the worship in the temple was to thrive, the city must be populated with citizens who would work, play, worship, and defend the city if attacked. I kinda wonder what it must have been like in the city -- basically the only peeps living there were the leaders! So they cast lots to choose one of every ten people who would move to Jerusalem. It sounds like some who were not chosen actually volunteered to move (v. 2). The ones who were remaining in the villages blessed those who were willing to move into the city.
This meant that they had to pull up their roots (no pun intended) and give up their acreage in the country. They moved into what was going to quickly become a very populous city! It was inconvenient and perhaps less desirable to move from the countryside to the city, but these people were willing to live where God needed them, in order to serve His purposes.

One of the considerations for believers when we move to a different location should be "where would God want me to live? Where is a place that I can serve?" Many people (and I am guilty of this, too) say they want to move to LittleTown because it is a small town and not too crowded. I don't want to live in MegaTown because of all the crowds. NEWS FLASH!! God pictures and talks about heaven as a city! Not a mountaintop retreat or a sprawling, remotely located ranch. This is not a place where we will live in seclusion and ignore other people! Of course, not all of us need to be city-dwellers. But if God seems to be making things possible for us to move to a city, we need to be open to that opportunity. We need to have a ministry outlook and instead of complaining about all the people, view them as opportunities to serve Him. (The same goes for wherever God places us - we need to be willing to serve where He needs us!)

I think the huge emphasis in chapter eleven on listing the heads of families, the priests, the Levites, the temple servants, and even officials appointed by the king leads us to our next point on ministry. Not only do we need to be willing to serve where God places us, but we also need to serve in the particular tasks that He gives us.
Chapter eleven also lists some of the people outside the city -- those who lived there had to farm the land to provide food for those inside the city. The officials in the city, and the ordinary people, too, each had tasks to perform for the effective operation of the city. Everyone had a different role, but each role was vital to the entire effort.
In the body of Christ, God has given us different gifts, but every part is vital for the overall health and function of the body:

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.. . . . But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. . .  Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. (I Corinthians 12:12, 24b-25, 27-28)

This entire chapter of I Corinthians is so inspiring to those of us searching for our way to serve. We can learn to complement each other without friction or rivalry.  Each one of us should value the other members of the body of Christ for the special and significant talents and gifts that they contribute.
I read a quote by Carl George, a gentleman who consults and coaches churches and Christian organizations for growth. He said that the things in the church that people usually complain about may reveal the person's area of spiritual gift. Example? If a person says, "This doesn't seem to be a caring church," she is probably gifted in mercy. If someone says, "This church doesn't emphasize outreach enough," his spiritual gift may be evangelism.  And the one who says, "This church is a dis-organized mess!" probably received a spiritual gift of administration.  Interesting, no?

The solution for all of these people is not to sit around criticizing others. The other members may not have gifts that assist in their solving those problems! What the merciful, the evangelizer, and the administrator need to do is to get involved in the areas that they think need fixing. The merciful person could help everyone become more caring; the evangelist can show how to reach the lost effectively; the administrator could help the church get more organized.

Ministry means that I am willing to serve where I am; ministry means that I am willing to use my particular spiritual gift to help the body of Christ.