Derek Russell
Contributing columnist
When my wife and I were raising a young family, we made an annual trip up to the shores of Lake Erie where there is a certain ice cream parlor. This particular parlor has over 100 flavors – and all of them are unbelievably good tasting and bad for your weight. There’s ice cream with chocolate peanut butter cups. There’s mint-flavored and cheesecake-flavored ice cream. There’s nutty ice cream and silky smooth ice cream. There’s ice cream for coffee lovers (and coffee haters). Although the four of us are in the same family, we all prefer different flavors. Each person has a favorite flavor — and none of them are vanilla.
Someone once said that if everyone in the church was an ice cream flavor, no one would be vanilla. In other words, every one of us brings something unique and different to our church family, just by virtue of being who we are. We all have different passions, gifts, experiences, and personalities that form who we are as people.
The Bible teaches that each Christian has been given spiritual gifts for the purpose of building the Kingdom of God. No one has all the gifts necessary for the growth and health of the church, but altogether churches have what is necessary in order to fulfill its mission given by God. We’re like ice cream parlors with over 100 flavors. Some will excel in teaching children Bible stories in creative ways. Some will help the church become more fiscally solvent. Some will like to landscape – some will like to visit nursing homes. Some will like providing food for small groups or large gatherings. (Others, like myself, will love to eat the results of the group just mentioned.)
Often, well-meaning people will serve in a position or ministry for years that they are not particularly gifted for – and the result is a lot of frustration. Despite all the hard work, the work can be unfulfilling and unproductive. But when a Christian serves in their area of giftedness and passion, the work no longer feels like work but a joy. Good results happen with relative ease, and the ministry is a very rewarding experience.
So that brings up the question, how do you find your flavor? I know how to do that at an ice cream parlor. They have little plastic spoons, and you say, “Could I sample some of that?” The same can be true for serving in the ministries of the church. Sometimes people are a little shy to volunteer for anything because they wonder, “What if it doesn’t work out? Will they sign me up for 48 years?” Hopefully, the answer in any church is “No.” One of the best ways to see if a ministry fits your gifts is to give it a shot, and if it doesn’t seem to work out for whatever reason, no big deal. At least you will know that your gifts and passions don’t belong in that area, and you are free to pursue another area of ministry.
When I was a youth pastor many years ago, I learned the value of letting people try something out, and then if it didn’t seem to be a good fit, I allowed them to leave and try something else. More often than not, people who thought they might want to volunteer with my youth group stayed. But when some volunteers felt the draw to something else, we simply thanked them and allowed them to go serve in a different area – no guilt or pressure involved. They were healthier for it, and so was the youth ministry.
So what is your flavor? Is it singing in a choir or band? Feeding hungry people? Teaching children? Hanging out with teens? Working on home repairs for people who can’t do it themselves? Welcoming new people? Working behind the scenes on administrative tasks? Public speaking? Tracking financial information? The list of possibilities for any church I’ve ever seen is endless.
God has created you and gifted you to be the unique individual that you are. Your church needs you, your gifts for ministry and service and your time and talent to help build up the Kingdom of God. When the people of a local church are empowered to discover and use their gifts, the result is an explosion of possibilities for ministry. And like an ice cream parlor with over 100 flavors, that is delicious to me.
Derek Russell is pastor of the Hillsboro Global Methodist Church. He loves Jesus, family, dogs and football.
