Some people who hear the word “serve” or “stewardship”— because of past experiences in other churches— may put up their guard or hold back from contributing to the body of Christ. Some folks do not have time to serve and prefer to just fund the church with generous gifts. Others have nothing to give monetarily and, therefore, give themselves.
The Bible refers to your service as worship (Romans 12:1). In one sense, all of life is worship. Worship isn't just something you do once a week at church. Nor are worship and service something you do by yourself. It is an all of life response to the grace and mercy of God. Your service to Jesus is fueled by his grace.
Serving is also a group project. The Christian church is one body comprised of multiple parts (1 Corinthians 12:4-6, 20). One part depends on the other. In the church, we need the gifts and service of others. For Christ himself is our example; he didn't come to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.
Christ in giving himself for us also gave us gifts (Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Peter 4:7-11) not to hoard to ourselves but to generously spend on others as he spent on us. Service flows from the grace of God in us, and love drives the use of those gifts. The Great Servant Himself never meant for only the clergy to serve. Pastors and elders were given by Jesus to equip and deploy his followers to carry out service in the church and the world.
At HTC, we're not just looking for a "few good men" and women who do most of the serving. We seek to reflect the mission of that early Church. That mission is about growing up servants in the church who are on the move to serve in and outside the church to the glory of God. Therefore, we encourage every member and congregant to not only clarify their spiritual giftings but also to employ it actively, regularly and generously in our ministries.
