13. Acts 6:1-6 suggests what as to the type of work assigned to ministerial servants?

¹³ Although Acts 6:1-6 does not directly apply to the appointing of ministerial servants, what is said there does suggest the type of work or the nature of duties that normally would be assigned to ministerial servants. Not by instructing fellow believers but by distributing food, the “seven certified men” then chosen freed the apostles to ‘devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.’ By caring for similar duties today, ministerial servants provide the elders with more time for shepherding and teaching “the flock of God.”​—1 Peter 5:2, 3.

15. (a) To serve effectively as a ministerial servant, what is needed besides practical ability? (b) Although ministerial servants look after various things, what should be their chief concern?

¹⁵ Could just any brother with practical ability perform such work? No, for the “certified men” chosen in first-century Jerusalem were “full of spirit and wisdom,” or were “both practical and spiritually-minded.” (Acts 6:3, Phillips) Even if they were already older men among Jehovah’s people, they were assigned work similar to that now done by ministerial servants. So if present-day ministerial servants are to fulfill their duties effectively, they must be “both practical and spiritually-minded.” While they are occupied with organizational details, their chief interest should be in serving people in spiritually beneficial ways.