‘…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’
Matthew 20:28
Recently I was privileged to attend the REACH Australia conference with the church ministry staff. This was a challenging and exciting four days thinking through and learning about church growth and exploring how to maximise the number of people who hear and respond to the good news of Jesus.
The theme of the conference for 2022 was ‘Serve’. This involved considering the processes and systems that help raise up leaders and ministry layers in all areas of church life. A key aspect of this is the building of teams of people eager to serve God and each other as part of their local church as it meets on Sunday.
Our Sunday services are put together by teams of people who are serving God and us by using their gifts to make our times of gathering welcoming, encouraging, and edifying. At 5pm church, for example, we have Service Teams (who run the weekly service), Welcoming Teams and Community/Food (after church) teams. Members of the teams work together towards a common goal and support and care for each other as they do so. It is so much more than a roster!
Are you part of a team here at St Michael’s? If you are – that is wonderful – we are so thankful for you. If you are not part of a team yet, can I encourage you to join one? Perhaps you have been asked to join a team by someone but are yet to commit. Or maybe you are yet to be invited but you are interested to help out. You don’t have to wait to be invited – use the contact forms to volunteer!
Our teams are always happy to welcome new people. We need people who love Jesus and our church community and are keen to serve others. People who long to be part of our vision to see more and more disciples of Jesus shining as lights in our city. There are so many ways to be involved either up front (in leading, running a kids’ spot, reading the Bible, praying etc), or behind the scenes (sound and data, preparing and serving food, washing up etc). Training is available where needed – so don’t worry that you don’t know what to do. All that is required is a willingness to serve faithfully and be part of the team.
Please consider joining a team at your service. Our goal is to have everybody serving in some way. In this we want to follow the example of Jesus who came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
I am sure the service you attend needs you. In joining a team, you will be encouraged and be an encouragement to others.
Megan Engel | 5pm congregation
