The CRBC By-Laws defines the essential of service as, “We give our lives away in order to accomplish God’s purpose. The Proper response to the Gospel of Christ is loving servanthood." What does that look like in our everyday life?
Visiting a mom in the hospital the day she delivered a stillborn. Taking a phone call from my next door neighbor saying, “I think my Dad is dead.” (She lived with him. And yes, he had died in the middle of the night.) Awoken in the middle of the night from parenting a difficult teenager. These are examples of times I didn’t LOVE servanthood. (I guess someone else should be writing this post).
In my experience, we don’t always get to choose how God wants us to serve. Could it be because God knows we wouldn’t opt for challenges? I’m sure you have your list of times God asked more of you than you wanted.
A key word for us when it comes to service is “LOOK”. First, LOOK BACK at where God has asked you to serve. All the difficult situations of the past, not only remind us of what God has done, but also encourage us that He is faithful!
As I LOOK BACK, it also causes me to reflect on the different seasons of service I have experienced. Most of my seasons are based on my three daughters born in a span of 4.5 years, or who God has placed around me. When they were small, I organized play groups, hosted an in-home Bible study, served in the children’s ministry, and most days just “survived.”
God also used this time to introduce me to ministering to international women. One day, my two-year-old daughter began playing with another girl from South Korea. This led to me befriending her mom, which launched me into a new ministry which I never would have signed up for - Friendship International Women.
Elementary school brought volunteering at their school (fired from several positions—so many funny stories for another day), meeting other moms (several internationals I could invite to FIW), and arranging service opportunities for my family and small group at church. I also had the privilege of assisting the women’s ministry of my church.
God combined several experiences (including the death of my next door neighbor) to open the door for me to study apologetics, to speak and write about missional living, and to minister to Muslim women. Again, these are just a few of the many areas of service I never would have asked God to “sign me up”.
A LOOK BACK begs the questions, “Why would God ask us to be servants in areas of discomfort, weakness, fear, and ‘hard stuff’? Does God really understand?” Of course He does! Jesus served in ways he would have never chosen, even to the point of death on the cross.
Not only is it helpful to LOOK BACK, but God also wants us to LOOK UP. He wants us to abide in Him, depend on Him, and call out to Him. Why? Because He is able, not us. As we LOOK UP, we discover God can use us in areas we would never choose because He can get the glory, not us. God also wants to grow our faith in him.
Finally, let’s LOOK AROUND. Where is God opening the door for you to minister? Who crosses your path on a regular basis? A neighbor, a co-worker, your family? God wants to use you in His Kingdom. Let’s go serve!
Meet the author!
Stacy Neuschaefer not only is the Director of Missions at CRBC, but she is also a wife, mom of three young adult daughters (ages 23, 21, and 18), writer, speaker, occasional physical therapist, and most recently, her new role as mother-in-law. She loves to spend time with family and friends, many of whom are international women. She can also be found on the pickleball court or planning a family or mission trip.