Picking up Your Ministry
Scripture Reading — Romans 12:1-8
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. Romans 12:6
Eight months after we'd built a new facility, the bond company that financed our building said they were $500,000 short. No more payments would be coming. We still owed our general contractor $300,000. He and his subcontractors could (and did) file liens, claiming title to the property. All this caused us some anxiety and shifted our focus from the ministry God called us to do.
Thank God for folks in our church who acted graciously in that time of crisis. Members who were gifted in accounting went into a flurry of activity: they created a financial plan, applied to 20 new lending institutions, and investigated new options. Prayer-oriented people prayed with fervor--walking room by room through the building and praying for each. People with the gift of giving didn't wait for a new capital campaign; they gave immediately so that we could stay financially afloat. Each part did its work. Thank God.
Contrast that with an unsigned note we received during that time: "The back door handles need tightening. You need a Phillips screwdriver to do it." The note was probably well intentioned. But we really needed this observant person to skip the note and help out more constructively. Here's a time-tested principle for meeting church needs: Find godly people filled with grace, and unleash them into God-assigned ministry.
Father, thank you for giving your children a variety of gifts. Thank you for pictures of the body of Christ at work. Help us all to use our gifts faithfully for Jesus' sake. Amen.
About the author — Kevin Adams
Dr. Kevin Adams has served as a church planter/pastor in the Sacramento, California, area since 1991. He and his wife, Gerry, began Granite Springs Church in Lincoln, and this congregation has helped to nourish several other church plants. Kevin also serves as a director of the Sierra Leadership Network, a training program for new church leaders.
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