You Matter! Discovering Your Role in the Body of Christ

There's a conversation that I've had more times than I can count.  It typically doesn't start with someone asking if they can volunteer. It usually starts with a leader reaching out. I tap someone on the shoulder and ask if they would be willing to serve in a particular ministry. Many times, the response is honest and humble. They say that they need some time to think about it, and then we meet up a few days or weeks later. Sometimes the answer is “Sure, I can help if you need me. I can hold a door. I can stack chairs. I can fill in wherever.”

Something stirs in my heart every time I hear that.

I am incredibly grateful for how Green River Alliance Church runs on the selflessness of people who are willing to show up and do the invisible work.  But there are times when I want to gently stop and tell them, “You were never meant to be just someone who fills a slot.”  When it comes to serving in the Kingdom of God, there's no such thing as just helping out. We aren't just volunteers doing a chore, we are a living part of the body of Christ.  As lead pastor, if I'm doing my job, my goal isn't to find warm bodies to fill a slot.  My goal and my passion is to help people discover their ministry. God built us for ministry.

Asking people to serve is more than just a desperate attempt to cover holes in a schedule. It helps people see the gifts they have before they see themselves.  When we invite someone to serve, it's really an invitation to grow. It's an invitation into leadership development and an invitation into deeper discipleship, which leads us to become more of who Jesus is calling us to be.

The Blueprint We Often Miss

Far too often, we get the “church model” backward.

Many of us have been taught to think of church as a place we attend instead of a people we belong to. We show up, get something helpful, maybe shake a few hands, and then head home. The pastor preaches, the leaders lead, and everyone else kind of hangs back, assuming the real ministry is happening somewhere up front.

But the Bible doesn't teach that. Not even close.

Paul lays it out pretty clearly in Ephesians 4:11-12. “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”

This means that Christ gave the church pastors and teachers for a specific reason. He wants us to equip the Saints. 

Take a second and let that sink in.

The work of the ministry doesn't belong to those with titles. It doesn't belong to the guys with microphones. When we read God's word, we see that the work of the ministry belongs to the saints, and that's you and me.

My job and the leadership team's job are to equip.  We're here to support and equip. We're here to offer guidance, encouragement, and the tools that we need. But the church, the people of the church, are the ones living this out every day. They are the ones who will reach out to their neighbors, care for the broken-hearted in our workplaces, and speak Real Hope into the lives of friends and family.

Real Community Happens When We Serve

This is one of our core values at Green River Alliance Church.

But here's the secret about community, we can't really find it just sitting in a row on Sunday morning. Don't get me wrong, our worship services are essential. They're where we gather to connect to Jesus and to connect with each other but Real Community is forged in the trenches.

Real Community is developed when we teach a group of energetic kids in Kids Church.  It's a realization that we come to that we're not just babysitting. We are shaping the next generation's view of God. It happens when we're at Men’s Breakfast, and we realize the guy sitting next to us is struggling with the same things that we are. 

When we serve together, it is impossible for us to be strangers. As we serve together, we become friends. We move from being consumers of a “religious product” to being tributors to a divine mission.

Building Confidence Through Real Truth

Many of us don't feel like we're equipped enough. We don't feel like we're biblical scholars, we don't have it all fig figured out, and what if someone asked me a question that I can't answer?  That fear is exactly why we have a discipleship pathway.  It keeps us from throwing people into the deep end without a life jacket. Part of offering Real Truth is making sure people feel confident in that truth. Leadership development isn't about creating little pastors. It's about building confidence so that we can use the gifts that God has given us.  Being trained, being mentored and gathering the tools for ministry is so important so that when we step into a role we're not doing it out of obligation or fear. We do it out of a place of strength and calling.

Praying with someone who's hurting, leading a small group, or simply greeting at the door is a way to grow. As a part of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (The Alliance), we believe in empowering every believer to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. And it starts right here in our own city, in our backyard.

A Pathway, Not a Program

We are working hard to move away from recruiting warm bodies or just filling slots. We're working toward developing people. The slot-filling mindset says, “We need someone to run the tech booth who's available?” A development mindset says who has God wired with a heart for excellence in technology, and how can we help them excel in that gift?”

We want to see future leaders rise up in our church home. I would love nothing more than to see a young man or woman start out by helping in the parking lot and move on to leading a student ministry group. And then, if they feel called to it, move to full-time ministry or local church leadership. This is the building up of the body that Paul was talking about. It's a continuous cycle of growth where people learn to become tomorrow's leaders.

The Next Step

So where do we go from here?  Talk to someone. Talk to the pastor. Talk to your small group leader. Talk to a team leader of a ministry. We can take a look at what your next step would be together. I want to invite you to lean in. Get involved in what the church is doing. There are a lot of different needs. Just ask. What are you passionate about?  How do you think God wants to use you to change someone else's life?

The Ultimate Equipper

At the end of the day, this isn't about doing more for the church. It's about being more like Jesus. Jesus was the ultimate equipper. He didn't just come to perform miracles while people watched. He chose 12 ordinary, messy, often confused men and spent three years equipping them for ministry.  He taught them. He corrected them. And then he sent them out.

In John 14:12, Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”  Jesus has prepared good works for you and I. He has given us a role in his kingdom that no one else can fill. 

We aren't just a warm body filling a spot. 

We are a part of God's family. 

Let's get to work together.

www.greenriveralliance.org

Pastor Kevin