Are You Using Your Gifts in the Church to Serve Others?

During some of my schooling I worked for a small printing company. We took in more work on any given week than we could handle, and the pressure forged strong bonds and rewarding relationships. Regardless of differences, we all worked with great commitment out of loyalty to the owner whom we all admired. This bonded us tightly in solid relationships, and we spent time together outside of work. We all helped each other to get contracts fulfilled which we were assigned. And the store was successful during that time.

On other jobs occasionally I recall being forced to work with someone who was not interested in getting the job done. Those periods of my life hold no fun memories of pulling off the impossible or of friendships that still make me smile.

Could it be that present-day church members cut themselves off from rewarding, joy-filled memories by refraining from investing themselves in the hard work of making disciples? We would often rather stay safe and reasonably distanced from people or situations that might trouble us. And who of us really feels qualified? Aren’t professionally trained people supposed to make disciples?

The answer is no. Every member is called to use his/her gifts in the context where Christ has assigned him/her to serve. But our culture interferes by teaching us to view the church from the point of view of a consumer, and so we ask questions like “is it fun?” or “do I like it?” or “does it make me feel good?” or even “do I have a lot in common with the people there?”

Those questions are not of supreme importance if Jesus calls you to minister. In Matthew 4:19 Jesus called two fishermen named Simon (Peter) and Andrew, saying, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” That certainly had to nudge them out of their comfort zone to engage people with truth from God to make disciples rather than capturing fish in nets.

Apostles were eyewitnesses of Christ and specially appointed by Him, and their calling was confirmed with signs and wonders. Even though they are gone, the mission of the church continues to be to make disciples, and each believer is called to contribute to that goal. This will cause inconvenience, will not always be fun, will leave you really tired at times, and may enter you into awkward or even frightening or frustrating situations. This is not about having fun or making church a party atmosphere. It is about leading others to become holy and sacrificially loving like Jesus by carefully and prayerfully studying and applying His Word. Who has God put in your path, and how could you minister to him/her? The work of making disciples is hard but rewarding. Are you one to run toward or away from this calling? Do you have faith to believe Jesus can use you as He did Peter and Andrew? Have you ever asked your pastor to help you determine how you can serve?