This is a post that I made to our church’s “unofficial” Yahoo! listserv. In reality, we are all part of the same body, and there is no such thing as “unofficial” – a thought which didn’t come to mind till AFTER I hit “send”. But, I think the gist is still there:

Today I read 1 Corinthians 12:4-26 and was so affected by God’s truth about the gifts He has bestowed upon us and how they are used in the Church, I wanted to share it with all of you.

Often times on this list, members post about ministry opportunities they are involved with. Many of these ministry opportunities (like Operation Carelift, the Ladies Night Out, The Purpose Driven Life study, or organizing notes of encouragement to those who (although not members of our church) are going through difficult times) are not “official” ministries of IPC. Yet, they are ministries of the larger Church, just the same.

In these past few days, I was so thankful to have read the posts by those who, even though have been unable to attend IPC’s prison ministry were so supportive of those who had their sleeves rolled up and doing the work. Notes like this help workers to keep at it, and these notes are a ministry of encouragement in and of themselves!

The truth is that all of us have ministries we are involved with, whether we are raising families, ministering to students, co-workers, neighbors, bikers, etc. – or even part of larger Christian ministries, whether or not they are officially “Presbyterian”. While these ministries may not appear in the handouts at IPC, they are certainly part of the Church and they help define who we are as a body.

If for a moment we stray to think that one’s gifts are of no use in the church or that some gifts are more important, we essentially are telling God that He made a mistake in how He assigned them and where He placed them in the body.

Even when ministry opportunities physically conflict, there is no competition in Christ. All opportunities, prominent and behind-the-scenes, belong to the Lord. He is the one who has given us our gifts and the opportunities to use them. We need each other to function as one body, and there is no one who is left out. By supporting each other’s gifts we support the body as a whole.

Never think for a moment that your ministries and opportunities to use gifts are insignificant to share or take away from other opportunities because others may already have “too much on their plate.” 2 Thessalonians 3:13 says, “But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good.” (Regrettably, I have been confronted with my own selfish heart upon being “inconvenienced” by ministry opportunities that were, what seemed to at the time, a wrench in my scheduled path, and have been shamed when a person kindly says “you made such a difference – what a blessing you have been to me.” Ouch!)

Please continue to let others know about ministry opportunities (and praises and prayer requests!) – no matter how great or small, official or unofficial – so that we can all support each other by participation and/or by lifting each other up in prayer and encouragement. We truly are all in this together.

With much love,
Sarah Joy Albrecht