Merry Christmas

"For unto us a child is born, to us a Son is given... and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Might God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6


Rejoicing in the best gift -Jesus Christ!
Have a blessed Christmas,
4:12 Team

I want You to Serve at Church

 by Josiah Bennett

We at 4:12 want you to serve at church because we as teens need to break out of our comfort zones and be involved in servant leadership in the church today so that we can be the world changers of tomorrow. 

First Corinthians 12:7 says, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common Good.” 1 Peter 4:10 says "As each has received a gift use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”  We all have gifts. And as Ephesians 2:19 says “You are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,” we are a body, and all different members. We need to help build the church.  Josh Harris says in Stop Dating the Church “Serving is the fasted way to feel a sense of ownership in your church. It’s also the best way to build relationships. Membership in the church must not be spectatorship. No part of a body can merely observe the work of others –it has to contribute.”

Some think that it is the job of the paid workers at church to do all the work but Robert E. Coleman says in the Master Plan of Discipleship “It was not their place to do all the labor themselves, but rather to train the people for the task… by so doing the members of the church are built up to a place of strength and maturity.” It is our privilege to serve.

There are many benefits to serving at church.  When we don’t serve we miss out on the blessing of seeing God work.  As we follow God and serve Him, we are filled with the Joy that comes from serving Him. I have gotten to see God work in others, through myself, and my friends. Serving also provides opportunity to meet new people, serve with other youth, and serve with older men and women who become mentors. When you serve with fellow Christians you experience fellowship which is serving Christ together. Serving in the church now will help you later in life.  You will learn skills, responsibility and receive a servant heart.

So how does one serve? Well, here are several ways:

Do small things: as Alex and Brett Harris say “Small things most often occur behind the closed doors of our homes, schools, or churches. They are rarely new or exciting, and they are often repetitive –even tedious. Small things happen on the level at which we normally live our lives –the ‘stuff’ that makes up every day living.” Don’t be afraid to do a task, even if it seems small or doesn’t seem rewarding.  Do it and do it well. Learn to be faithful in the little, because Jesus says in Matthew 25:21 “… well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over the little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”  Alex and Brett Harris say “The truth is that huge gifts are often hiding in those small packages”

Always be willing to serve: Now, you won’t be able to do everything, but you should be willing to do anything… Josh Harris says in Stop Dating the Church “A passionate disciple is always asking ‘what can I do to serve God and others with what He has so generously given me? We shouldn’t withhold our gifts at church. We shouldn’t even wait to be called upon to exercise them. Instead we should humbly present our gifts to our leaders and offer to serve the needs of the whole body in whatever way would be most helpful.”

Do something you love to do: Do you like playing with little kids? Join the nursery. Do you enjoy playing an instrument or singing? Join the worship team.  There are so many different places you can serve at church- find where your gifts are and minister there. But, don’t be afraid to try something new. 

Serve with your friends: There are few better ways to hang out with your friends then to serve with them at a conference or dinner.

Also remember who you are serving: You are serving God through serving others. Even if you are serving someone who doesn’t have a very good attitude remember that you are serving God. Remember why you are serving: We don’t serve because it will earn us heaven; we serve because we love Jesus.

Maybe you would love to help out, but think you are too busy.  Alex and Brett Harris encourage their readers of Start Here to ask “what type of busy am I? Are you intentionally busy with purposeful, fruitful work? Or are you busy in the sense that you are always doing something, don’t have extra time during the day and feel tired or irritated a lot? Being disciplined and organized in how you spend your time is one of the most important small hard things that allows you to do some of the bigger things that God has called you to do.” Be the right type of busy –productive

Ask God where he is calling you to serve.  You will be given a lot of opportunities to serve and they’ll be good! But you can’t do all of them. Alex and Brett say in Start Here, “We realized we didn’t have to do everything in order to serve God. We actually make ourselves more productive when we learn to say ‘no’ and ‘yes’ to the right things.”

So the next time you hear about an opportunity to serve at church consider volunteering. So instead of being a recipient and follower, become a servant leader. 

from fellow servant leader,

Bibliography

Coleman, Robert E. (1987) Master plan of discipleship

Harris, Alex and Brett (2008) Do hard things

Harris, Alex and Brett (2010) Start here

Harris, Josh (2004) Stop dating the church