What is Serving — Really?
We all need a thousand things every day. We have big needs and small needs. Everyone around us does too. Sometimes the people around us see needs before we do. The real treasure is when we act on what we see. When we shoot the text to the co-worker who had a tough day or move the elderly neighbor's trash can to the curb.
A good measure of our spiritual health is our depth of concern for other people.
As we allow the Gospel to change our hearts, we will develop a deep care for other people. Our attention will begin to turn away from ourselves and to the needs of others (Galatians 5:13). A good measure of our spiritual health is our depth of concern for other people. Eventually, our hearts are so in tune with what Jesus is doing around us, He begins to use us to meet the needs of others.
The Gospel is enacted through the local church all across the world. The church is us: people who love Jesus serving others by parking cars, holding babies, praying with and for others, pouring coffee, and opening their homes.
In this, God changes us. Serving in the local church is a vehicle to discover how we are made and how the Lord can use us. Serving provides us the opportunity to know more about how we are created: our likes and dislikes, what we can do well and what we cannot.
God fills in the picture for us. We discover more about ourselves and how He is growing us while He uses us to meet the needs of others. We learn best by doing.
The discovery process of how God can take our unique selves and join with the work He is doing will last our entire lives. As we grow, as stages of life change, as we meet new people and participate in new activities, new ways to serve others will become clear to us. Our heart posture must always be the same: what can I do to serve other people?
Every week at GPC, we are given the opportunity to practice putting our attention less on ourselves and more on others. We will not be perfect. We may find ourselves serving in an area that doesn't match our gifting and need to adjust. We may also find we love a group of people or an area of ministry more than we thought we could. Either way, we jump in and start.
In this, God weaves a beautiful relationship between both working in us and through us. It is lacing up our tap shoes and seeing what God can do.
Contact us for ways you can get involved in serving at GPC!
Other Serving Opportunities...
Volunteers Needed! Sometimes there comes a need to have office volunteers to help in various ways. This could be substituting by answering phones when vacations or illnesses occur; folding/stuffing bulletins and newsletters, or even preparing special mailings. If this is something that you may be interested in, please email Sharon or call 254.773.2134. Volunteers are the best!