During Jesus’ day, He said, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few” (Matthew 9:37, KJV). The same is true today.
Against this backdrop, I sometimes hear Christians say they don’t know what their ministry gift is. Some even joke that the Lord must have forgotten about them when He gave out gifts. But just as there are no useless parts in the human body, there are no useless parts in the body of Christ which is the Church.
“So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another,” Paul the apostle writes. (Romans 12:5). This verse compares the local church to our physical body. For instance, our physical body is made up of many members that must work together to function as one body. Similarly, the members of a local church must work together if it is to function effectively. The point is that if you are a Christian, you have a divinely imparted purpose in the body of Christ.
More importantly, your local church needs you to contribute to the body as God has given you the ability to. You may think it doesn’t matter. Sure, the local church will go on even if you fail to perform your role. But not at the level of effectiveness possible if everyone does his or her part.
Getting Involved in Your Local Church
We know this is true of our physical body. Some time ago, I injured my wrist. I could do very little with it for a couple of weeks. Even the simplest task such as wringing out a rag to dry a car was difficult. Since the injured wrist belonged to the hand I used for pulling the starter rope of my lawn mower, I couldn’t cut the grass. It even hurt to shake hands with someone. The things I normally did with ease became a struggle.
No other part of my body could compensate for my wrist’s failure to perform properly.
A similar reality is being played out in local churches everywhere these days. Many church members are little more than churchgoers. And for some of them, even their attendance is irregular. But a local church can perform at its maximum potential only when all of her members get involved. The greater the disparity between church membership and church involvement, the less effective local church will be.P
So, what has God blessed you with the ability to do and to help the church accomplish her mission? Perhaps you have been blessed with the ability to do more than one thing. Also, you may be most effective working within the confines of the church building. Or maybe you have been gifted to be more effective outside the four walls of the church. But whatever it is, your local church needs you to do that–if she is to perform at her best.
Copyright © 2022 by Frank King. All rights reserved.