LET'S BE REAL - Ministry Volunteer

LET'S BE REAL.

A glimpse into life as a ministry volunteer...

Close your eyes for a second… okay never mind you won’t be able to read this if you do… go ahead and open your eyes. Imagine with me for a second. It is 7 o’ clock in the morning (or earlier for you Church planters), you’re polishing off your ‘grande vanilla latte’ on the car ride to Church. It’s Sunday morning, and it’s beautiful outside. The kids are all grinning, hands folded, enjoying the view on the short ride over to a beautifully remodeled Church facility where a dozen or more department heads, ministry of helps (or lay workers) are there awaiting your arrival with a smile as everyone begins the process of preparing for the 10am service start time. While the amazing band is wrapping up a flawless rehearsal, the TV cameras are ready, sound is checked and dialed in, the ushers are prepped, the greeters are smiling from ear-to-ear ready to hand out bulletins and shake and greet everyone as the multitudes quickly pour into the main auditorium. It’s 10 o’ clock, the worship team fires up and the congregation jumps to their feet as the celebratory atmosphere of praise, worship and expectation fill the room. As worship ends, Pastor has the people greet 5 people around them. Then… unleashes an inspiring, life-giving message persuading dozens of those who don’t know Christ to raise their hands and give their lives up to follow Christ from that day forward. Those new believers would of course continue to attend, tithe, bring their friends, kids and neighbors… only to repeat this beautiful process over and over, advancing God’s Kingdom and growing an influential Church in the process.

Okay, okay. Let’s be real, if you have spent 2 minutes in any kind of ministry platform or volunteer in your local Church, you know that the majority of the above just isn’t based on reality. In fact, it is far from it. Among the realities of helping in ministry are that it often feels harder to wake up on Sunday then any other day of the week. It often feels impossible to get your family (or yourself) out of the house and to Church in time to get set up, meet with your team and get prepared for service without developing a frantic or frustrated attitude in the process, let alone polish off a ‘grande vanilla latte’. You often have to work aside people you don’t necessarily like, and feel you need to relay the same instructions across 450 times before anything get’s done as requested. You deal with “camera-men” whose attention drifts in service, sound guys that play the same two songs for offerings even when supplied a library of music, ushers that wait until it’s time to take up the offering to let you know they are out of T&O envelopes, which you often feel is a lost cause since the majority of the congregation would rather spend the money they claim they’re low on, on Blockbuster and PizzaHut, before funding the same Church they wish would have outreaches, events, a cooler sanctuary and someone to answer the office phone every time they call for information that gets announced in service and written in the bulletins they typically leave under their seat, or stuff in the back of their Bibles, if they bring one at all. I’ll stop there. But I think you get a little glimpse of my point. To say the least, it can sure be challenging!

 Having grown up in a ministry house-hold dedicated to imparting faith into believers and reaching new ones in the process, I have seen first-hand that there is no greater reward, then when you witness people standing up and making decisions for Christ in any given service. Or when the testimonies roll in from people reaping the benefits of Pastor’s teachings etc. Whether you realize it or not, the four walls of your Church contain people whose marriages are in shambles, their hearts are broken, some sexually abused, confused, scared and even feel they have lost the desire to live at all. Your Church also contains people that feel they have life all figured out, they’re marriage is in good standing, the kids are healthy and there really isn’t much to complain about. Your Church’s congregational needs and circumstances are not only different in most cases, but they are also changing on a regular basis. Never the less, when we as the “Ministry of Helps” or ministry volunteers take time out of our busy schedules to deal with the “realities” of ministry, whether good or bad, we are ultimately in ministry to serve God. Although awaiting the fruit of our efforts may last a lifetime, it’s important that we stay passionate about the things of God, and remember that no matter how hard it was to just GET to Church, every service is a matter of life and death. Remember to focus on the Lord, stay involved, pray for your Pastor and His family, tithe and stay connected no matter how you feel. When you do so, the rewards will be endless.