Every one of us has a long list of things we are good at doing.
Many of these skills are NOT what we do for a living.
Many of these skills are “just something” we do or know how to do.
If we honestly look at how we serve, in what capacity, and doing what type of activities, we can find life in serving.
Why We Do Things We Are Uncomfortable With?
To be honest, the only reason I have volunteered to work at our church’s Vacation Bible School (VBS) was that my wife was the Director. I, as a loving husband, would do whatever I could to help her.
When I started working for myself in 2012, I was “volun-told” that I would be happy in that year’s VBS and asked what job I’d like to have.
Searching for a job that I, as an introvert, could do, I found my way to serve. I’d run the iMac with the slides and videos for the worship time and Missions session.
I am high up in the balcony, away from the throng of people. I’m there, but I’m not in the mix of humanity.
As a person that has worked on Macs for years and who worked for a Fortune 1000 company creating PowerPoints, I could use my skills and abilities to help my wife and my church share the Gospel with all those kids and their families
Finding Our Gifts To Serve
Ministry is not designed to be a burden.
Ministry is to be done cheerfully and based on our own skills and abilities. These are given to us at birth.
Some skills and abilities are natural. We grew up doing certain activities that helped us improve on a “natural” ability.
Other skills and abilities are supernatural. We receive these when we are born of the Spirit. That is to say when we become believers and disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We all have different roles according to Scripture. In Ephesians 4:11-13a we read:
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, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God
There are other ways to interpret verse 11.
If we look at Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth, we see in 1 Cor 12:12:
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
Look at your life.
- What areas do you excel in?
- Can you teach?
- Can you make food?
- Can you pick things up and put them down?
- Can you change a diaper?
- Can you rock a baby to sleep in a rocking chair?
- Can you count money
- Can you decorate?
- Can you sweep a floor
- Can you do data entry
- Can you walk from one place to another>
- Can you smile?
If you can do one or more of these, you can help out at your church’s VBS.
How Can Serving Share Your Faith
Sharing our faith in Jesus does not need to be scary nor be a theological discourse.”
One of the men that I worked with at VBS scheduled part of his vacation time around VBS.
He worked at a grocery store but LOVED being on the soundboard. During the COVID quarantine, he started a side hustle doing sound engineering.
He has done the soundboard for three of the four years that I helped. Guess what? His boss knows that he is a Christian, that he will be helping out at VBS, and he has shared with his boss what the themes have been.
I will miss my friend when VBS comes around again. He just died last week due to COVID.
The conversations with his boss were an easy way to share his faith. His fellow workers also knew when he is off doing VBS, prompting more conversations.
Sharing our faith in Jesus does not need to be scary nor be a theological discourse.
