Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Serving without Thanks....

Nothing in our life happens by accident or chance! This was never demonstrated more clearly than Sunday night when we asked all of our mothers who had children 10 years and younger to come to the altar - I must confess I was blown away and excited. I saw a swarm of sweet ladies gathering at the altar with ladies that had grown children praying for them. This is a glimpse of what Church looks like. While I had no idea the number of young moms we had, I knew we were going to have a fun skit that night which would emphasize our nursery drive and I simply wanted our Church to see who we were ministering to through our nursery....

God has blessed us at Trinity with many young families and plenty with precious children. While they are under the parents’ authority, in many ways they are all of ours at Trinity. We all bear some responsibility for them and their parents. Remember, this is what being a Church is all about, being responsible for one another. For years, our practice at Trinity has been to keep the nursery on Sunday morning, but pay others to do so the remainder of the services. This has been very helpful, but there are two problems with this. (1) We have grown to a point that we have MANY more children in the nursery than before. (2) We as a church are missing ministry opportunities. I think I would be safe in saying that there is not a more humbling way to minister than in the nursery. When I preach I have the joy of hearing and seeing people respond, when the choir sings they will hear “amen’s” and even get standing ovations. Our Sunday School Teachers teach and listen as those in their class see a truth or give them personal testimony of what the lesson meant. As I think about it, there are few things less rewarding than nursery. No two year old will take you by the hand and say: “Well dear sir, thank you for taking me to the potty and spending your valuable time watching me snatch a toy from my playfellow and hit him over head with it, I am forever indebted to you.” Truly it is a thankless job, but it is a ministry that should make our minds run to Matthew 25 where the Scriptures say those who are naked and imprisoned and all those who are helpless – then our King says in VERSE 40: “…inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it to me.” According to the Word of God, when I minister to those who are the most needy, those who can give the least amount of visible thanks, and when I do so with a loving heart, it is like I am ministering to Christ. This is one of the ministries any one could do, and every member should do, but the possible rewards in eternity are invaluable. I want to encourage you and your family to take advantage of this incredible opportunity! I love and appreciate you and look forward to serving alongside you at Trinity this Sunday!