I learned to play the drums when I was 17 years old. I picked it up pretty quick, and about 4 months or so after I started, I began playing at the church we were attending at the time. Eventually, I moved on from that church after I left to go to school, and began attending another church.
I really wanted to play the drums at that church too…but I saw that they already had a drummer, which led me to this thought:
“They already have a drummer, so they must be ok. They don’t need me, so there’s no need to try out.”
Let’s just say that I could not have been more wrong!
Eventually I did decide to try out, mostly because I was wanting to drum professionally and was literally looking for any avenue I could to play so I could get experience and get better. So I auditioned, “made the team,”, so to speak…and it turns out that the other drummer was literally the only other drummer.
And he had literally been playing every single week.
That experience opened my eyes to something that I believe keeps many of us from getting involved. It’s the same idea I had when I first saw this church already had a drummer, and it goes like this:
I see (insert role of your choice, whether a band role, a production role, LifeKids role, etc.) filled every week- so they must be good and the don’t need me.
Literally nothing could be further from the truth.
After nearly over a decade in ministry as both a volunteer and someone who is on staff at a church, I can honestly say I have never been in a situation where we had “too many” volunteers.
Sure, the roles may be “filled” each week. But that’s only what we see as we pass through on Sunday. What we often don’t see is that person may be the only one in that spot. Or we may not realize that person is wearing multiple hats because they volunteer in 2-3 different areas, and they wish they could serve in just one…but don’t want to “let anyone down.” In more extreme cases, we often don’t see that, while the person greeting you on Sunday may put on a smile and a happy face, they’ve gone without a break for so long that the joy has long since left what they do, and they show up “because they have to.”
I’m not trying to guilt anyone into serving here…I’m just explaining what reality is many times so that- if you are not yet a volunteer- you understand this very clearly:
You are needed!
Not just to fill a role- sure, that’s a big part of it. But you are needed because you are a part of Jesus’ family- what Paul calls “the body of Christ.” And here’s the thing about a body- every part has a part to play.
12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable- 1 Corinthians 11:12-22
None of us get a pass to just observe the body at work. As a part of the body, all of us are called to play a part- and in some cases, that means being the much-needed “relief” for a fellow body member that is exhausted.
Don’t let a role that seems “filled” keep you from serving. Step up and step in. I can promise you it will be welcomed. You’ll become a tremendous blessing to a fellow volunteer and to the team leader.
But more than that, you’ll become a difference maker for the Kingdom because as we serve, we show people the love of Jesus and enable them to hear and respond to the Gospel. In fact, that’s why we serve in the first place and why we keep showing up- even when we may be tired. And since the launch of LifeSpring in September 2016 we’ve seen over 130 people respond to the Gospel.
Just imagine what could happen if EVERYONE stepped up and stepped into a role. Just IMAGINE what God could do and the difference it could make in our community! Because it God’s done this with roughly 50% of the adults connected to LifeSpring serving, just imagine what He could do with 75% or even 90% of our regular attenders getting involved!
That excites me- and I hope it excites you as well and moves you to get into the game!
To explore how you can begin serving, visit lifespringnc.com/serve.