To the body of New Hill,
I pray this quick blog would be both insight to my thoughts, the desire of my heart, and that it would be of some encouragement to you as you seek a place to serve not only the body of New Hill, but the Kingdom of God as a whole. My hope is for all believers, from the youngest to the oldest, to be faithfully serving at some capacity, but first we must break the stigma that there are only a few places to serve.
“I don’t have a place to serve”. Have you ever said or felt that statement in regards to serving in the church? You’re not the only one. I’ve been in full-time ministry for nearly 10 years and I’ve heard stories pastors have shared of their congregants seeking ways to serve, I’ve witnessed it at the churches I’ve been in, and I’ve had discussions with people in our church fam, past and present, who struggle finding ways to get plugged into an area of service. Why is that the case?
I think the struggle exists mainly because we have created this idea that there’s only a small pocket of ministries that matter within the church such as Greeting Team, NH Kids Team, and Worship Team. While it is true that I believe these three ministries are vital to a Sunday morning, they do not negate your value to the body of Christ and Christ’s command for you to actively participate in the life of the church, which includes serving AND being served.
The reason these ministries are considered some of the top ones are truthfully for good reason, though they’re not the be-all and end-all of the church. Those reasons are because you should have hospitable people welcoming people as they come into the church whether it’s their first time or one-hundredth time, kids to be cared for in a safe space devoted to teaching children the Word of God by people passionate and energetic for seeing this generation raised up, and a group of gifted, musically inclined individuals who share a passion to lead God’s people in song. But what if you fall outside of that list of ministries?
Put your boots on, grab the plow, and go to the field God has called you to. At this point I’d simply direct your attention to all of 1 Corinthians 12 where Paul’s attention is on the gifts. While we could be jealous we don’t have someone else’s gift, we’d be missing the part where Paul says, “Don’t say you wish you were something/someone else, for we cannot function without each and every person, just like our body doesn’t function without each part doing its job” (my paraphrase).
While we need these three ministries to be taken care of by those who are able, willing, and passionate, we also need every believer to take to heart the calling to reach the lost and encourage the saints through serving.
One of my greatest examples would be Lori Ditty. I know she will hate being the example, but she is a great one! She is a marketing and advertising guru, so she knows how to clearly communicate through campaigns. Aubrey, my wife, mentioned to Lori that she’d be great at doing the Loop (our weekly newsletter via email) and she was STOKED! Not only was she passionate, she’s faithfully been serving this role and I believe our church is better off because of it.
What are you passionate about?
Missions? Where and how can we send you?
Evangelism? What resources do you need to go out and share the Gospel?
Caring for new parents? What can we implement as a church to better serve them?
Caring for newlyweds? How can we help you serve them throughout their first few years of marriage to help them build solid Christ-honoring foundations?
Are you more behind the scenes and want to be hands on with setup and tear down? That’s perfect and much needed.
Those are a few examples, but understand that there’s a plethora of ways to serve the church, for Christ has gifted you and made your heart passionate for specific things so you may honor Him in it. YES, we could use the help in NH Kids, Greeting Team, and the Worship Team, BUT the kingdom of God is not confined to these ministries, go where God calls and use the gifts He has graciously given to you.
Go and read what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31. I pray this encourages you to use the gift(s) you’ve been given and follow the desires that God has placed on your hearts.