At Grace, we ask all of our members to serve the church in some capacity. Not only are we called by God to service, but Grace Church needs each person’s help to fulfill our mission. Grace is a large church with multiple campuses; serving helps each of us get connected. When we serve together each week, we make friends, share life, and become a vital part of our church community. Why should you serve? Church was never meant to be a spectator sport where we just show up, sit back to be entertained for an hour, and then go home. The scriptures tell us that we are each given a unique set of gifts, talents and abilities for the specific purpose of serving the Lord and building up the church. Some people are gifted at teaching; others are gifted at singing, greeting, organizing or leading. These gifts are meant to be shared, and in fact, the body of Christ is not complete without all of our gifts working together (1 Peter 4:10-11; Romans 12:6- 7). Using your gifts to serve others brings meaning, purpose and joy to your life. For me, watching young children in Camp Grace understand the Gospel and relate it to their lives a little more each week makes the time I invest in teaching worthwhile!
Serving also exposes our weaknesses, makes us vulnerable, stretches us beyond our comfort zone, and shows just how much we need to depend on God for strength. Service requires that we humble ourselves; Jesus is all-powerful, yet He came to serve (Mark 10:45). This act of humbling ourselves gives the Holy Spirit room to work in our hearts and change us to become more like Christ. The Scriptures also tell us that we find life by giving up our lives for Christ (Matthew 10:39). Part of the process of maturing as a believer is giving our lives away. Serving challenges us, but it’s actually life-giving and life-changing.
When we serve others, we give up what we want to do with that time, and we focus on what others need. In doing so, we are reflecting the love of Christ to a hurting world and bringing praise to our Heavenly Father (Matthew 5:16). Our service becomes much bigger than just the act itself; it’s transcendent as we are used by a holy and living God to draw others to Himself. To get involved or find out more about serving opportunities at Grace sign up for the next Volunteer Orientation at http://gracechurchsc.org/connect/ serving.