by Jacob Ninan
Many Christians know in their heart that it is not enough to just attend the meetings of the church but that they would also like to be able to contribute in some way to the functioning of the church. Many young Christians are wondering what God would have them to do in the church. The Bible says that every born again believer has a specific function which God has assigned to him in the body of Christ, in the same way that every part of our physical body has some particular role in the working of our body.
Some people think that their natural talents are an indication of what God wants them to do. So, some of them launch out on a musical or artistic career without God sending them forward. This may be how Moses thought when he had received a lot of training in the palace in Egypt and decided that he would be the saviour for Israel. But it was only after forty years working as a shepherd in the desert that he had learnt the right attitude of heart to serve God.
God equips each us differently to do the variety of tasks in the church by giving us differing spiritual gifts (1Cor.12:4-7). It is not for us to choose what we like, but to submit to whatever role God chooses to give to each of us (v.11). We may be tempted to imitate someone we admire, or to seek recognition from others for what we do. But if we are faithful to do whatever God tells us to do, our reward will come from Him. When we know this, we are not to worry about the applause that may or may not come from people.
Jesus has given the church what is known as the Great Commission (Matt.28:19,20;Mk.16:15). This is not the task which is for anyone to carry out alone but for all of us to fulfil together. This task can be broken up in a broad way to four parts, viz., 1) Go and preach the Gospel, 2) Make people disciples, 3) Baptise them, and 4) Teach them to observe all that Jesus has commanded. It is the task of the church to reach out to those who are outside and share with them the good news that Jesus came with. When they come to repent from their sins and place their trust in Jesus as their Saviour, they must be taught to get baptised as a demonstration of their commitment to Jesus. After that, they must be taught everything that Jesus has commanded us, which is necessary for them to grow up spiritually and become more and more like Jesus. All of us have to be involved in some part or parts of these functions and thus fulfil our role in the body of Christ.
What we see often is that local churches focus mostly on one part of this task, depending on the calling of their leaders. For example, some churches major only on evangelism with the result that when new members are brought into their churches, they do not find any help for them to grow spiritually. Some of them just go back. There are other churches which focusses on being disciples of Jesus and teaching people to become obedient to the teachings of the Bible. Many times they become self-occupied and show no interest or involvement with those outside of their circles. There are a few churches who focus on getting people baptised, many times with a wrong idea that baptism would make them children of God. On the other hand, the more a local church pays attention to all the different parts of the Great Commission in a balanced manner, they can present themselves to outsiders as a miniature representation of the universal church which is the body of Christ.
The question we have to ask ourselves is how each one of us can fulfil the particular task in the church that God has planned for each of us. Our contribution may not be prominent, or it may not even be recognised by the others. Just as many parts of our physical body function in a hidden manner unknown to us, we too can be faithful in doing what the Lord wants us to do even if others may not particularly notice it.
Let us look at some of the tasks to be carried out in the church. "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ" (Eph.4:11,12). Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers are sometimes referred to as the five-fold ministries in the church. But we must see that this is just indicative and not exhaustive, because other lists add 'miracles, healings, helps, administrators and tongues' (while excluding evangelists and pastors) (1Cor.12:27-30), and 'service, exhortation, giving, leading and showing mercy' (Rom.12:4-8). 'Helps' covers many different activities, such as the ministry of distributing food as seen in the early church.
'Apostle' is generally thought of these days as a position of highest authority in the church. But if we think about it, it only meant originally 'those who are sent out' as in the case of the twelve Jesus sent out to preach the Gospel and establish churches, from among all the disciples of Jesus (which included many others apart from the twelve). They had special recognition in the early church as those who had been very close to Jesus, and therefore who knew His message well. But their task was similar to that of missionaries these days. The task of the evangelists was to proclaim the gospel of salvation and to bring people into the experience of salvation. In general, prophets are to bring the immediate message of God to the people, whether it is of impending judgment, warning, correction, encouragement, or comfort (1Cor.14:3). There could be those who teach or counsel prophetically, meaning being led by God to say what is appropriate for the occasion. Teachers are those who explain the word of God and clarify how to apply it to practical life. Pastors are not necessarily those who lead churches, as in these days, but those who 'shepherd' the flock in their care, to provide them food according to their needs, caring for them with prayer, counsel, etc. 'Elders' is a general term used in the New Testament for leaders in the church, along with 'deacons' who are responsible for managing different practical aspects of church life. 'Administrators' are obvious, while 'helpers' carry out a variety of tasks in many aspects of managing the church. When a church is operating under the power of the Holy Spirit, He manifests Himself in many ways, including miracles, healing and tongues. In summary, there is a large variety of ministries that we could be involved in the church, depending on God's calling for each one of our lives.
Each of us needs to find our place in this church. We need to ask God to show us our unique task, without comparing ourselves with others. "If the foot says, 'Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,' it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, 'Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,' it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired" (1Cor.12:15-18). We are not to compare ourselves with others, or look down on others because they are not doing what we are.
Whatever we do for the Lord, we must be whole-hearted in doing it, because it is the Lord we are serving in the ultimate sense, and He is the One who will reward us (Col.3:23,24). In that sense, we are all to be full-time servants of God. Let us not look for positions, designations or recognition before people, but let our faithfulness be seen by the Lord. Even if the church you are in does not officially recognise your work, try to learn from the Lord how to carry on humbly with whatever you are able to do. "Now the most important thing about a servant is that he does just what his master tells him to (TLB)" (1Cor.4:2).