5 Ways to Stop Treating Ministering Like Visiting Teaching 2.0

For years, faithful Latter-day Saint women (and men) checked the boxes of home and visiting teaching. The names were familiar. The pattern was predictable. The message came from The Ensign, and the visits were often squeezed in at the end of the month, sometimes more out of guilt than love. So when ministering was introduced in April 2018 as a higher, holier way to care for one another, some of us embraced the freedom, while others quietly struggled without the structure.

But here’s the problem: many of us still treat ministering like visiting teaching. We use new words but old habits. We look at our assignments and think, “Ugh, I haven’t reached out this month,” and scramble to text someone so we can report “done.” But ministering isn’t a task to complete. It’s a way to love, serve, and lift like Christ did.

So how do we elevate our ministering efforts and make them something we want to do instead of have to do?

1. Change the mindset: It’s about people, not performance

Ministering is not about you. It’s not about checking a box or giving a spiritual thought. It’s about knowing and loving a real person. That’s it. You don’t need to impress them, fix them, or even teach them. You just need to be there. Instead of asking, “What should I do this month?” ask, “How is she really doing?” and “What would bring her joy or peace right now?”

2. Pray with purpose

President Russell M. Nelson said, “In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.” That goes for ministering, too. If you’re unsure how to help someone, ask God. Then act on the promptings that come, even if they feel small or random. A quick voice memo, a shared meme, an extra cookie delivered to her porch are simple things can mean everything when prompted by the Spirit.

3. Get creative and personal

Ministering should reflect your personality and the needs of the person you’re serving. Are you great at sending memes? Do that. Are you a note writer, a baker, a babysitter, or a listener? Use your spiritual gifts. And learn theirs, too. Find out their birthday, love language, and how they prefer to connect. You don’t have to serve everyone the same way. That’s the beauty of ministering. It’s customized Christlike care.

Read: Gift Ideas for Your Ministering Sisters

4. Make it a habit, not a hassle

Ministering becomes burdensome when we see it as one more thing to cram in. Instead, build it into your normal rhythm. Text your sisters when you’re already on your phone. Invite her to walk with you when you’re going anyway. Drop by with flowers on your grocery run. Add reminders in your calendar to check in weekly. When ministering becomes part of your lifestyle, it stops feeling like an obligation and starts feeling like a privilege.

5. Stop worrying about what to report

What counts? What if I didn’t share a message? Should I even report? These questions come from an old visiting teaching mindset. The First Presidency has reminded us: what matters is caring. If you tried, if you prayed for her, if you reached out or thought of her or served her in some way, that’s ministering. And even if you didn’t do any of those things this month, there’s always a new one coming.

When we stop confusing ministering with visiting teaching, we unlock something beautiful. We begin to experience the joy of becoming like Jesus- who ministered one by one, always with love, never with checklists. Elevating our ministering isn’t about doing more. It’s about caring more. And as we do, we’ll find that ministering doesn’t drain us, it fills us.

“In the Lord’s restored Church, it is all about people. It is about reaching out in love to others.” —President M. Russell Ballard

Let’s stop dreading our ministering lists and start loving our ministering people.