I remember hearing of a church that boasted that it had a thousand ministers at its church. You might be inclined to think that it was a mega-church, filled with tens of thousands of people. In actuality, the church had only a thousand members, but considered each of its members to be a minister, who was ready to serve others. This is a great picture of the church.

At Rock Valley Bible Church, it is my desire to see everyone in the church actively engaged in serving others. I’m not talking primarily about trying to busy everybody with a load of work at a bunch of church programs. My vision is that we would be doing life together. Just as a family lives together and shares it joys and its difficulties together, so ought the church share their lives with one another. Romans 12:15 tells us to "rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep."

The role of the pastor

People often think that the work of the ministry is to be done by those who lead the church and are paid to do so. But, such thoughts couldn’t be further from the truth. God has given the leaders of the church, "for the equipping of the saints for the work of service" (Eph. 4:12). The word translated in this verse as "service" could easily be translated, "ministry." The word expresses the idea of help given to another person. The saints (i.e. all who have been cleansed of their sin through faith in Christ) are to serve others. It isn’t only the pastor’s job.

As a pastor, this verse has been very helpful to me in defining my role within the church, so that I might know how and where to prioritize my time and my activities. It is my God-given role to teach and train those within the church to serve others (or, to be ministers). I am not exempt from such activity. In fact, one of the primary ways in which I can train others in this area is to be an example of one who has given his life to serve others.

But, a pastor’s role as one who equips the saints for the work of service can’t stop at being an example. I must also teach others how to serve. At times, this may come through teaching specific skills. However, the primary means of this teaching is through the teaching of the Scriptures. God uses His revealed will in the Scripture to teach us, reprove us, corrects us, and train us in righteousness. Indeed the Scripture is capable of making us "adequate, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16-17). This is why we place so much emphasis upon the teaching of the Bible at our church: The Bible equips us for good works, which is at the heart of Christian service.

Yet another way to equip people for service is to encourage them to serve. For the few years of our existence as a church, I have sought to foster and develop an attitude of service within the church. This is the purpose of this article. I want to encourage you to be a minister at Rock Valley Bible Church. I want for you to be a servant, by meeting needs and helping people.

The role of the people

Many people ask me, "What can I do to serve?" They often have in mind some official task that they might do. I usually respond by directing them to know and love others within the church. This type of service seems so "unofficial," but this is the heart of all ministry. Ministry is loving and serving others. So, look around and see who you can love.

At Rock Valley Bible Church, we don’t have an abundance of programs going on, with lots of needed volunteers. Certainly, there are some official serving opportunities, but if you are doing life together with the people of Rock Valley Bible Church, then you probably know about these already. The place to begin is with loving other people. Jesus said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you" (John 13:34).

To love and minister to other people, you need to be around other people. I encourage your faithful attendance at our regular meetings (Sunday worship, prayer meeting, men’s equippers, ladies Bible Study), which not only help your spiritual growth, but also develops your relationships with others at this church. It is only when you know others and are doing life together that you will discern how you can help them. If you perceive a need, step in and help. If a need develops due to financial pressures or sickness or a death in the family, your relationships will provide the foundations upon which you can minister to them.

So, foster relationships with others, that you might be in a strategic position to share both their joys and sorrows. This may be as simple as talking with others. Your conversation may be the means by which you encourage one another to press on by faith in your difficulties. This may be as enjoyable as doing an activity together, such as a ball game, a canoe trip, a holiday dinner, or a bike ride. This may be as helpful as lending a hand with someone’s yard work, or helping a busy mother clean her windows. All of these possibilities are opportunities to develop your relationships with others which go beyond our Sunday morning meetings.

In all of your relationships, keep the goal in mind. Paul said that the leaders are to equip "the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ" (Eph. 4:12). Just as you build a house one board and one nail at a time, so also is the church built through one act of service at a time. You may be tempted to think that your little act of kindness isn’t going to make much of a difference. In one sense, you might be right, as a missing nail or two on a board doesn’t make much of a difference. But, if you start lacking several nails close to one another, a board may fall and leave a hole in the roof, which causes a leak, which causes great damage to take place. How many people in churches have been hurt through others neglecting to say the encouraging word in time of need! The goal of your relationships is the building up of the church.

I believe that Rock Valley Bible Church is strong and healthy today because of the strength of the relationships that exist among many of us. There are many in the church whose lives intersect during the week because of our love for one another. This is great! Yet, the task of building up the church isn’t accomplished once we have our close-knit group of friends within the church. All of us need to be focused on expanding our love for others, especially toward those who are new to the church.

As a church, I believe that we do an excellent job at greeting people on Sunday mornings. In fact, as I speak with those visiting our church, they often tell me how friendly the church is. They have expressed appreciation in feeling welcomed by all the people who have come up to them and greeted them. In this I commend you. But the life of the church ought to extend far beyond Sunday mornings. I encourage you to reach out to those who are somewhat newer to the church. Have those you don’t know very well over to your home, get to know them, love them, share your life with them. My wife and I put quite a bit of effort into this, but we are having troubles keeping up with it recently because of all the people God is bringing to our church! This is a vital way to serve, and everyone is already equipped and qualified to do it, each in his or her own unique way.

At Rock Valley Bible Church, let’s do life together. "Put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity" (Col. 3:14).