What does it mean to be a Disciple?

In Germany, during World War II, a church was totally destroyed except for a statue of Jesus Christ that was almost unharmed. The hands of the statue were missing. Rebuilding the church, a famous sculptor offered to replace the hands. The people of the church refused, declaring: “Christ has no hands but ours to do His work. If we don’t feed the hungry, give drinks to the thirsty, entertain the stranger, visit the imprisoned, and clothe the naked, who will?”  (This is not my story, but one that I have heard countless times that obviously applies here.)

Serving in the church is an important part of being an integrated member of the church. Sometimes we refer to those serving as being the hands and feet of Christ. There are a myriad number of ways to serve in your local church. In this post we’ll take some time unpacking the whys and hows, but always talk to your local church’s pastor if you’re interested in serving as he can usually point you in the right direction.

Why We Should Serve 

A couple reasons. First, because we want to be like Jesus! Jesus was totally selfless and humble. He put the needs of everyone else above His own. We can do that, too. 

Philippians 2:3–7, Paul says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others. Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant . . .” (CSB)

Read that Scripture again. Jesus, part of the Trinity that created the entire universe, became a servant. He washed feet, He prayed for people, He loved other people greatly. 

Second, we should serve because it is commanded to us by Jesus. When an expert in the many Jewish laws asked Jesus to name the greatest commandment of all, Jesus responded eloquently. 

He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39 CSB

Not only are we showing our love for God by serving others, but what better way to love our neighbor than by serving them and by putting their needs and desires above our own? 

How to Serve

Now that we have established the why, let’s look at the how. There are two main ways we serve others in the church: serving with love, and serving with action. However, these ways are often intertwined.

When we are serving in love, we are bearing with others. We are being humble and compassionate. 

Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love… Ephesians 4:1-2 CSB 

We can allow others opinions and preferences to be met first. For example, we may prefer the a/c to be set at 75 degrees, but we notice our sister in Christ is dealing with a hot flash, so we willingly don’t complain when the a/c is lowered to accommodate her. 

We can serve others by just being there for them. Bearing each others short comings and burdens as we continue to love them and help them. Not serving by giving them stuff, just by being there like the verse says.

When we are trying to serve others in love, we are watching our words. We are willing to apologize. We are assuming the best intentions of others. We are encouraging and uplifting to those around us, even those we may not have anything in common with.

When serving with our actions, we are mimicking the good Samaritan that Jesus talks about. (Go read this parable in Luke 10 if you are unfamiliar with it.)

“If anyone has this world’s goods and sees a fellow believer in need but withholds compassion from him—how does God’s love reside in him?” 1 John 3:17 CSB

When we are trying to serve with our actions, serving in various ministries in the church is usually the first thing that comes to mind. Other ways may include with our money, time, energy, resources, knowledge, phone calls, etc. We are meeting physical, tangible needs that some fellow believers have, whether it is providing children’s clothes for a single mom, giving food to an older couple on a tight income, or providing transportation to a church member who is unable to drive. 

Praying for others is a relatively simple way to serve others with our actions. Maybe someone has asked you for prayer or is open about a specific struggle. Or maybe you are following the prompting of the Holy Spirit and want to cover a specific brother or sister in Christ with prayer. Either way, definitely consider sharing with them that you are praying for them. This isn’t bragging, but is usually reassuring and encouraging to your loved one. 

Another easy way to serve is to be friendly with visitors or those at church by themselves. Sit with them. Talk with them. Listen to them.

Final Thoughts

So once I start serving in an area, I should continue serving there forever, right? 

This is one aspect of ministry that I am specifically passionate about. So often we begin serving in a specific ministry because we do feel called to be there (obviously sometimes we are trying to please others by saying yes). But as time continues, our passions change and we ignore the prompting of the Holy Spirit to move out of serving in this ministry. We get so good at staying busy serving in the church that we neglect to pray and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

I would urge those of you who are in a volunteer service role at your church, whether it is in kid’s ministry, youth ministry, or serving with the welcoming committee, to periodically take some time to seriously pray about if God wants you to continue to serve in this ministry. So often we get into the mindset of “if I step down, nobody else will step up and take my place.” This thinking that a ministry will fail if you aren’t there is dangerous thinking. While you may be right, the ministry may fail without your leadership or service, this thought process is such a selfish one. And we have already established that serving in the church is supposed to be all about selflessness and humbleness. 

Serving in the church is NOT ABOUT YOU. Yes, you are the one sacrificing your time, money, energy, talents, etc. But it should be all about God. When we take our focus away from that, it is time to step down from ministry. However, definitely talk to the pastors or leaders first and see if they have insight on taking a long break or a way to transition your stepping down. The last thing we want would be for a mass exodus by the volunteers in the church.

I love this poem from St Teresa. It sums up the reason we should be serving in the church.

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks 
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks 
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours. 
— St. Teresa of Ávila