Where Do I Fit In My Church?

I have been involved in  full time ministry for over 40 years.  I have been the founder and Senior Pastor for my church for over 33 years.  During all that time I have seen people come and go.

Many will come to the church for the first time and within a few weeks expect to be used in some type of ministry in the church. However I have learned to be obedient to I Timothy 3: 6, which tells us not to place a novice in any position.

The word, novice, means newly planted.  That is why we require someone to be attending the church faithfully for at least two months before being used.  They need to sit in the church services for a while to fully understand our vision and our method of operation.

I Corinth. 12 talks about being a member of the body, the church, very similar to being a member of the human body.  To be a true member of that body, you should be contributing to the benefit of the whole body.  I often joke about those who can be referred to as warts in the body.  A wart just attaches itself to a body to absorb the nutrients of that body without serving any benefit to the body.

I have often referred to some who just come to receive.  In some cases that is OK.  Maybe the job you have makes it impossible for you to serve in your church.  Or maybe you are in a season of life where you do not have the time to serve, such as a mother with small children or a single Dad with children. That is your season to be available for the upbringing of your children.

However if you have the time to serve, you should make yourself available to serve in your church.  But where do I fit in?

I have learned something over my years of serving, first just as a volunteer, then going into full time service and finally becoming a pastor of a church.

Where do I fit in my church?  Where do I begin?  What position should I serve in as a volunteer?

I always tells others to just pick somewhere to serve where you know you will be faithful to its schedule and its responsibilities.

Seek the Lord for direction as to where He believes you would serve best.

Here are some guidelines to follow in choosing where to volunteer:

• Know the real desire of your heart, not the fantasy
• Know what stirs your passion
• Know what flows naturally with your talents
• Seek counsel from mature believers
• What can you give yourself to 100%
• Follow peace

If you start somewhere, maybe what may seem a like a very small position, your faithfulness to that responsibility will open the door for the Lord to promote you to a position of more responsibility or authority.

- Pastor Jim