Serving at church: finding your place in a concrete need
A church doesn't run by itself: someone sets up the chairs, makes the coffee, looks after the children, runs the sound, welcomes newcomers, does the accounts, cleans up afterwards. If you attend a church, you benefit from it. This week's quest invites you to lend a concrete hand to a person, a team or a practical need.
What it looks like in your day
Spot a need. Observe: who looks overwhelmed? What task is short of hands? Often you can see that the coffee is always served by the same people or that the welcome team is short-staffed.
Offer specific help. “I can come Sunday at 9 to set up the room.” “I can look after the children once a month.” “I can print the song sheets.” Better a small commitment kept than a big promise forgotten.
Come with your abilities. Can you cook, do DIY, welcome, organize, draw, listen, drive, play an instrument, manage a budget? Your service is precisely there.
Work as a team. Serving alone can exhaust you. Better to join a team or form one with a friend.
Stay free. Start with a single time. Serve for real, before deciding on a regular commitment.
If you are short on time, a thirty-minute task is enough. If you are shy, favor a service behind the scenes: preparation, tidying, equipment. If you are new, it is a very good way to meet people: you learn more about a community by stacking chairs with it than by observing from afar for months. And if you have a rare skill, simply tell the leader: it may have been missing for a long time.
What the Bible says
Paul describes Christian freedom with a surprising phrase:
“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”
“By love serve one another”: freedom is not made for looking after yourself, but for serving. In the church in Jerusalem, a practical problem arises: the Greek-speaking widows are being neglected in the daily distribution.
“And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.”
The apostles don't say it is a detail: they have seven men full of the Spirit and wisdom chosen to deal with it. Practical service is taken seriously. It also lets the others devote themselves to prayer and the Word. And Jesus himself says that he is “among you as he that serveth” (Luke 22:27).
Pitfalls to avoid
Serving to be seen. Service at church can become a place of status. Keep your heart simple.
Overloading yourself. By dint of saying yes, some wear themselves out and end up leaving. Choose, measure, rest.
Criticizing without serving. It is easy to point out what is wrong. Offer your help instead.
Neglecting thankless tasks. The most visible services attract many volunteers, the others lack people. Dare to take on the discreet tasks.
Comparing yourself. Everyone has their place. Don't measure your service by that of others.
This week, spot a need in your church. Offer specific help, and keep to it.