Dear Small Church Congregation,
When you are born again, you become part of the overall body of Christ, the body which makes up the church Jesus is building. As part of that body, you have been chosen by God, called through the drawing of the Holy Spirit and given a new spiritual birth through the cleansing, creative power of the blood of Jesus. The same Holy Spirit that drew you to Christ also places in you gifts, talents and anointings that are to be used to bring glory to the name of Jesus.
God doesn’t bring salvation into a life and stop working in that life. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God gives you the abilities and opportunities to expand your ability to bring Jesus glory through what you do and say. That doing and saying is where the gifts, talents and anointings come in.
Some people are given special skills that develop into ministries that include being an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher so the overall body of Christ can be built up, developed and empowered to go into the world and share the good news about Jesus. Others are given special abilities to give generously, to administrate and direct others, to sing, to speak God’s message to others through unlearned languages or interpretations of those languages, to bring healing to the sick, to be encouragers for the hurting, to perform miracles in unusual circumstances, or to do any other number of activities as directed and anointed by the Holy Spirit.
Let me make something clear at this point in this letter. No gift given by the Holy Spirit to a member of the body is more important than any other gift. Our physical bodies operate properly when all the parts operate properly. The lungs need the nose for the flow of oxygen. The stomach needs the teeth for properly chewed food. The eyes need the eyelids. Each part, regardless of how small, is important.
This same concept holds true for the body of Christ in the local congregation. Each member operating properly adds to the proper operation of the whole congregation. The person who cleans the front sidewalk after mowing the grass is just as important as the one who prepares the music selections for a service. The intercessory prayer group leader is just as important as the pastor. They have different responsibilities, but they all are needed for the congregation to fulfill its calling in its community.
Another reminder at this juncture—All of these gifts, talents and anointings come from God’s Holy Spirit that is in complete agreement with God the Father and God the Son. The Holy Spirit has other responsibilities, but He is the one who gives individual disciples these gifts as He chooses. Men do not give these gifts to other men or women. They come from God and are to be used to bring glory to God as the members of Christ’s body fulfill their individual callings.
As each member becomes actively involved in the operation of the body, the body operates as it should and will bring Jesus to the forefront of everything that happens because of the words and deeds of the individual members. This holds true for the overall, worldwide body of Christ, His church, and it holds true for the individual congregations that are made up of members of that body of believers. Each congregation that is operating with its members fulfilling their callings from God will have the same result as the overall body of Christ when it does its world-wide job. Jesus will be lifted up. Lives with be changed through faith in the creative power of Jesus. The Kingdom of God will increase. This happens in the local congregation, as much as it happens throughout the world.
One of the primary reasons for a member of the local body to seek God’s anointing, power, gifts, talents, wisdom, discernment, etc. is so that member can help the local congregation become all God intends for it to be. When the individual members are operating under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the local body matures, grows and becomes highly effective for the cause of the Kingdom of God. Without the local member operating and fulfilling his/her callings, the local body becomes ineffective, and that hinders the overall body of Christ being effective on a larger scale.
The individual member can discover his/her gifts, talents and anointings through prayer, fasting, studying God’s word and simply listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit as He directs his/her life. Seeking the Kingdom of God in one’s own life will help a person to discover just what his/her job is in the local body of disciples. No two people will have identical gifts, just as no two people will have identical ministries and no two congregations will have identical ministries. Some things may be similar from one local body or member to the next, but they will not be identical.
Allow me to encourage you to invest some serious time in asking God to reveal to you what He wants you to do as one member of the local body. Look for opportunities to apply your skills and talents in ministry within your local congregation. Talk to your pastor about your interests and seek his guidance in filling a need within the local congregation if it falls in your areas of interest. Talk to mature disciples and ask them how they became involved in ministry within the local congregation. And as always, pray, pray, pray, and then listen and let God speak to you.
Remember that God doesn’t necessarily call the qualified. He will qualify the called. (God will get you ready for what He wants you to do as an individual member of the local congregation.)
Sincerely,
A Small Church Pastor