How do you “fit” in our church: a guest or a family?

The Nominating Committee had done a great job placing everyone on our membership roll into a meaningful ministry.  Members prayed, researched, worked together to streamline our organization and add ministries to make our church even more functional in 2011. 

We believe that God has placed in every church a complete set of gifts, and no church Body is meant to be missing parts.  Yet, the health of the church is determined by the willingness of each member to do their part. There are no “handicap” churches, but there are paralyzed or sleepy churches.  And it’s all by choice of members.  We want to have Women’s Ministry in addition to active men’s Ministry.  We want to have Pathfinders ministry offering spiritual growth for teens.  We want to have Seniors Ministry.  And the Personal Ministry has a task to “plug” every person into a meaningful ministry.  How have you responded to the Call?

The Church is also a family.  Whenever there’s a party the guests leave and the family stays to clean dishes, and shares costs.  What is your place in our church? 

Do you just come for the “party” to receive a good time and be blessed?  We love you, keep coming, and we hope that in time you would desire to join the “family” and make it bigger and better. 

Do you contribute to pay bills, prepare things and stay after to clean up and prepare for future?  Do you come to a “family meetings” where plans are discussed and budget is decided?  Or do you just “pay the price of a ticket” as a visitor by giving a donation to the particular programming you like to attend?

I have written before about the “culture” present in every community.  The first value of our church culture is “family.”  We care for one another, we want to know each other and we want to spend more time with each other.  We also recognize that the family has grown big.  It’s a “tribe” with many clans.  To affirm belonging, representation and total participation “chieftains” of each clan come together to form Elders’ Council.  We want to serve everybody.

Recently someone sent me a cute comment in regards to the work of the Nominating Committee: “Pray for the tired, recruit the tireless, and avoid the tiresome.”

I Invite you to consider your place in the Body of Christ – a hand, a foot, an eye, and consider your role in the Family of God.  If you are a family member, what is your chore?  In a functional family everyone is involved, everyone has some chores, everyone knows their place.   Body, let’s function well!  Family, let’s work together!