Where will you serve God during the coming church year? Although most churches use a variety of committee structures to fill the many servant-leader needs of their ministries, program, activities and functions, the ultimate decision about where one will serve remains with you — the individual Christian.
A few churches are so committed to individual Christians deciding where they will serve that the churches do no enlisting at all. Instead these churches simply list all the service opportunities in the church and wait for members to respond.
If a ministry is not properly staffed, the church concludes God is not leading them to do that ministry because God’s people have not felt led to serve in those places.
Most churches, however, enlist volunteer servant-leaders using a nominating committee or a committee on committees.
In the next few weeks most every church will be scurrying through its membership trying to make sure every position is filled and the church can function effectively for the coming year. So where will you serve God during the coming church year?
In practically every Baptist church a few members will probably insist they have no gifts or abilities enabling them to serve in the church.
However the Bible says otherwise. The teaching of God’s Holy Word is that every born-again Christian is equipped for service through the church — the Body of Christ.
This understanding begins with recognizing that God gives His Holy Spirit to every believer. The apostle Peter made that point at Pentecost when he urged his listeners to “repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins” (Acts 2:38). He then added the promise,
“and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Since the day a person accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, God’s Holy Spirit has resided in the heart of him or her.
The apostle Paul adds to our understanding of this truth in 2 Corinthians 5:5 when he writes, “Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
Paul plainly says every believer not only has the Holy Spirit in his or her life but also that God’s Holy Spirit is active in them reminding them of the down payment God made toward our final and complete salvation.
Part of that activity is related to spiritual gifts that equip each and every believer to serve in God’s church.
In 1 Corinthians 12, the writer deals with spiritual gifts directly (v. 1). In verse 7 he states clearly “now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given.” There is no mistaking those words.
The manifestation of the Spirit is given to each believer — not to a few but to “each one.”
In the preceding verses, the apostle Paul adds to our understanding. Verse 4 declares there are different kinds of gifts.
In the Greek, the word “gift” comes from the same root word as “grace.” Gifts are a form of grace and all come from the same Spirit. Whatever spiritual gift one has, it is a grace-gift from God’s Holy Spirit.
Verse 5 says there are different kinds of service. Again in the Greek language, the word “service” comes from the same root word as the word “deacon.”
After all a deacon is a servant. The apostle declares that no matter the kind of service one does, it is done for “the same Lord.”
Jesus taught the same truth in Matthew 25 when He said, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me” (v. 40).
“Workings” in verse 6 refers to various abilities or skills. The writer again says there are different kinds of workings “but the same God works all of them in all men.”
The explanation could not be clearer. God gives spiritual gifts to everyone and everyone’s spiritual service is for God Himself. It is God who works in all men to enable them to use their gifts for His honor and glory.
God is the origin of service. God is the destination of service, and God is the enabler of service along the way. He is the Alpha and the Omega.
Why does God give every believer a spiritual gift? For the common good: that is what verse 7 makes clear. Spiritual gifts are not given for personal boasting.
They are not given for private enjoyment. Spiritual gifts are given to every believer so every believer can contribute to the common good of the Body.
First Peter 4:10 reinforces this teaching when it declares, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”
In 1 Corinthians 12:12, Paul uses the analogy of the body when he writes, “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts and though all its parts are many, they form one body.”
He adds in verse 27, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
Every Christian is gifted by the Holy Spirit in order to contribute to the Body of Christ. That is the unmistakable conclusion of the chapter.
A healthy body needs all of its parts working together. When any single part of the body fails to function properly the entire body is impacted. It becomes less healthy than when every part is contributing.
So the question is not if a believer is gifted to serve God through His church in the coming year. The question is where will the believer serve?
When you use your God-given spiritual gift to serve through His church, you contribute to the health of the church.
When you fail to use your spiritual gift to serve God through His church, the entire Body of Christ is weakened.
This coming church year make sure you contribute to the health of the church by serving as God has gifted you.
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