The Creator made us in His image to worship Him. For far too long, the word ‘worship’ has been attached to a place and a moment, often inferring to the Sunday gatherings in churches everywhere. With that being said, worship has been associated mostly with music. Today we will look at how you can find your worship “voice” when speaking in the matter of serving God with your gifts and talents. The worship that I am referring to is your calling to serve God. Music is definitely one avenue, but not the only one. If you are not on stage singing or playing an instrument, you still have a worship voice where that ‘voice’ is used to make your faith known to the world.
Online church volunteers are usually serving behind the camera, not in front of it. Much like the production crew, online church volunteers may assume the similar sentiment that their impact is simply that of a tech job. In reality, the impact of every volunteer in any ministry role is huge! As a leader, you must help them to find and see their worship "voice."
To start, here are few steps you can take to direct your volunteers in the right direction:
- Passion: What are the things they are passionate about in life? These are the things that keep them up at night, but it is not because they are worrying about them, but rather they can’t stop thinking and dreaming about the possibilities of them. Ultimately, these are the things that make them excited to get up and put their thoughts and dreams into action.
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Spiritual Gift: What are their spiritual gifts?
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Speak Truth: Surround them with people that will hold them accountable and speak truth into their lives.
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Test the Waters: Allow them to serve in areas they are not yet sure about. Some of their gifts and talents have been untested. So before they jump in all the way, try it first and allow some time to confirm that it is what they should be doing.
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Be Willing to Leave Their Comfort Zone: Sometimes, serving God will take you out of your comfort zone. Rather than looking at this as an obstacle, teach them that this is often a time of discovery.
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Don’t Let Fear Hold Them Back: FEAR is the number one item that will stop them from doing what God has called them to do. Fear holds us back, while God wants us to move forward. What are they afraid of? The Bible is clear about fear, stating that we must “cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
One of the greatest illustrations of how we can use all that God has given to us can be found in Matthew 25:14-30. The teaching of the talents recalls the parable of the faithful and wise slave who continues to do the work of the master until the master returns (24:45-51). Although the master is delayed, he arrives to find the wise slave doing the tasks that have been appointed to him in the master’s absence. The foolish slave, however, has neglected his work and abused his power. In return he receives severe punishment. In the parable, the master entrusts his servants with his property, and punishment awaits those who have failed to carry on the master's work.
God has given each person a wide variety of gifts, and He expects us to put those gifts to work for Him and His Kingdom. Like the servants from the parable, our gifts are not the same. God expects us to give back to Him with the gifts we have been given. The servant who received one talent was not condemned for failing to reach the five-talent goal; he was condemned because he did nothing with what he was given. The gifts we receive from God include skills, abilities, family connections, social positions, education, experiences, and more. The point of the parable is that we are to use whatever we have been given for God’s purposes.
God does not endow people with identical or necessarily equal gifts. If you do as well as you can with the gifts given to you by God, you will hear his “Well done.” Not only the gifts, but also the people have equal worth (not only those in front of the camera). Serving in the online church allows each person to experience the power of God through chat, prayer and discipleship. Make an intentional investment in the lives of your volunteers to help them use all of their gifts and talents that God has given them for His glory..
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