Expectations
It is often unclear what is expected of you when you join a church. We have three expectations of everyone who considers themselves part of the family of Lakeshore Church.
1. Commit to a Sunday gathering
2. Commit to a Growth Group
3. Commit to serving
Serving
An essential mark of being a Christian is being a servant. If we understand that we have been served by Jesus we will serve. Mark 10:45 makes it very clear when it says: “For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many.”
Ephesians 4:11-13 talks about the church being given people who help the church grow. It mentions people who play a particularly role that is focused on bringing the Word to the church. The Word is the primary means of equipping the church to maturity and love.
In 1 Corinthians 12:7-13 Paul uses the analogy of the body to explain the church. He says every person in the church is a part of the body and has a part to play in the church growing to maturity.
A way of thinking about what attitude we should have to church is to think about the difference between having dinner at a restaurant and having a family dinner at home. There is a big difference between a restaurant and a family dinner. You go to a restaurant to sit down and for people take care of everything. You can even complain if you don’t like the food or the service. That’s not what happens at a family dinner at home. You can’t expect everything to be taken care of. You need to help set the table, clear the table and clean up. The difference between a restaurant and a family dinner is that you do something at a family dinner.
Lakeshore Church is a family where you do something. You serve because you have been served by Jesus.
“Too often Western believers wander from church to church without really becoming committed to a body of believers. We tend to leave churches for consumeristic reasons, and often we only join a church if it can use our gifts. God calls on us to become part of the body and to live the believers who are part of the body. We don’t gather with other believes fundamentally to fulfill our gifts but to help others grow. So, we should be asking ourselves, “How can I serve others in the body of Christ? How can I encourage my brothers and sisters in the faith? How can I influence them to walk faithfully with the Lord?” Thomas Schreiner
Motivation for Serving
– It flows from grace
– It is God centered (Colossians 3:23-24)
– It is others focused (Galatians 5:13)
– It is empowered by the Spirit (1 Peter 4:10-11)
– It is characterised by humility (Philippians 2:3-4)
How do you work out how to serve?
There are three factors to consider.
1. Skills or talents
2. Passions
3. Needs
Thinking through these three factors can help you work out how to serve. Ideally it is a coming together of all three factors that would determine where you would serve. There are some areas where you have certain skills and passion and if that is matched by a need in church then it makes it clear.
If is often not as simple as that. You might have a skill in a certain area but there is no need for that skill. Or you might have a passion for something but don’t have the necessary skills. Sometimes skills can be learnt if there is a need. Then again some times there is a need for a role or a job to get done even though there might not be anyone with the skills or passion for this it has to be done. Who would ever say they have the skills and passion to empty the bin?
They way we express serving at Lakeshore is that we expect everyone to serve in the ‘life and activities’ of Lakeshore Church. This includes serving in some way on Sunday to hope make the Sunday gatherings work. These are the focus of our church life and if everyone doesn’t get in and help they will not happen. Some of us will serve in upfront ways and others behind the scenes. However there is more to church life than just our Sunday gatherings. There is life the rest of the week and so we expect people to serving each other by living out the ‘one another’ commands.
The step to take to work out how to serve at Lakeshore is to speak to your Growth Group leader or one of the Pastors.
