“But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” —Matthew 20:25-28
“There is no hierarchy in the gifts of God. The ministry of the church does not rest on status but on service. No gift that serves others is little. God uses both stars and candles to light His world.”
• Broadman’s Bible Commentary
“Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.” —Acts 6:1-7
A Growing Church Produces
Whenever a church grows, problems arise. People start complaining. In the case of the early church they were dealing with a complaint from the Hellenistic Jews (aka Greek Speaking Jews) that their widows were being neglected.
Church Leaders Must
People To
Deacon is a theological word, taken from the word “serve” in this passage. It’s the Greek Word - “Diakoneo”, which means to serve or to minister.
What Were The Qualifications Of A Deacon?
- A
- Full of the Holy Spirit.
- Full of
The Importance of
- Empowering people gives them the confidence to do what God calls them to do.
- Empowering people to serve tells people that serving isn’t a second-class gifting but an equally important part of the body of Christ.
Is Better Than
Acts 2:41 “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.”
Acts 2:47 “praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
Acts 5:14 “And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,”
“He is no Christian who does not seek to serve his God. The very motto of the Christian should be “I serve.” —Charles Spurgeon
Here is a list of needs that we have as a church:
- Children’s ministry/Youth Ministry workers
- Food ministry workers
- A Hospitality Team Leader
- A Planning Team Leader
- A Men’s minister
- A Women’s minister
- A Care Coordinator
- A Social Media Manager
And many other opportunities!
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” —John 13:35
“Oh! The infinite value of the humble Gospel helpers. Thousands of people who have no gifts as leaders are number-one, helpers. How grand, revival work moves along, when red-hot platoons of fire-baptized helpers crowd around God’s heroic leaders of the embattled hosts.” —W.B. Godbey, 19th Century Preacher