Dear First Pres,
One of the greatest joys for any church leader is when a person says, “yes.”
Of course, we rejoice when a person says “yes” to the invitation to surrender her life to Jesus as her Savior and Lord. And we rejoice when a person says “yes” to stepping into active membership of our congregation, as 15 of your fellow congregants will do this coming Sunday.
But the particular “yes” I’m thinking about today is the “yes” of service.
Recently I was having a conversation with a member of our church. While we were talking, I sensed the Holy Spirit prompting me to ask him to consider stepping into a particular need that we had in our church. He appropriately said that he would pray about it. A few days later, he let me know that he would love to serve Christ and His people in the way that I asked. Hallelujah!
Part of following Jesus is saying “yes” to service. Jesus, of course, modeled this perfectly for us. In one of the most powerful scenes in all of Scripture (John 13:4-5), Jesus “took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” After He had finished, Jesus said, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (John 13:15).
So, how are you doing at serving others? When was the last time you said “yes” to service?
Church leaders always rejoice when people say “yes” to service, and there is joy in the serving, as well. I love to imagine the smile on Jesus’ face as he washed the disciples’ feet. He did it to show them the full extent of His love for them. Don’t you think it was a joy for Him to serve them in this way?
A few weeks ago I got some pictures from some guys who were serving a family in our church by helping them with some yard work. You should have seen the smiles on their faces as they pruned and weeded and raked and mowed. They loved it. There is rejoicing when someone says “yes” to service, but there is also rejoicing in the service.
We have a lot of opportunities to serve in our congregation these days. We particularly need people who are willing to commit to regular weekly or monthly service. We could use prayers, ushers, singers, technicians, teachers, youth leaders, ArtHop hosts, mission team members, office supporters, Growth Group leaders, Go Teamers, meal preparers, coffee servers, cooks, hosts, elders, deacons, and nominators … to name a few. Of course, these are just the formal opportunities in the life of the congregation. We all know there are countless more opportunities to serve each other as we do life together.
So, how is the Lord calling you to serve these days?
Blessings,
Pastor Jeremy
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