Your Church Needs You

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

Acts 6:1-4

Up to this point the apostles had done it all, but now the church had grown possibly to number as many as 10,000 including women and children. There weren’t enough apostles to go around. They needed help. If the church didn't raise up more leaders, its growth would be stunted.

There’s a lesson here for the modern church. A church can have a do-it-all pastor if they want, but they’ll never reach a lot of people. The church with the do-it-all pastor grows only to the point that his abilities are maxed out, then he becomes the bottleneck. Once the pastor is maxed out the church can’t grow anymore because people’s needs stop being met. 

What the early church needed and what the church today needs is for other faithful Christians to rise up and use their gifts to serve. How did they handle it? The church as a whole selected seven men who were full of the Spirit to serve the church. Many believe these men were the first deacons in church history. 

Verse 7 tells us the outcome. It says... "So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith." Two things resulted from the apostles empowering the people of God to use their gifts for ministry. First, the word of God spread. Second, the number of disciples increased rapidly. When the bottleneck was removed, the church grew rapidly. People got saved. When God’s people are empowered to do God’s work, the church grows! 

God has gifted you to serve His church as well. You may not be a deacon or a Sunday school teacher, but you can do something. And your church won't reach as many people as it can if you don’t use your gifts. It's time for you to step out of your pew and step into your gifting and serve the church. Find your place and serve!