“Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” Acts 6:3-4 ESV
My husband has been a volunteer with our church youth group for well over a decade. He is dependable, consistent, and takes his role to share the gospel seriously. He teaches Sunday School, leads small group study, chaperones lock-ins and youth retreats… you name it, he’s done it. However, he is not the fun one.
Before you think I’m being harsh, he is the first one to admit he’s not the fun one. Brandon hates most games and can be socially awkward. He was the kid in school most likely to do the group work for the group so it would be done right and not mess up his GPA. He prefers time alone to think and work.
And yet, the youth LOVE him.
The Youth Director tells me that the kids consistently ask to be in Brandon’s group. They ask for more of his teaching style. He makes them dig deep, and they ask for more. This seems contrary to popular belief — kids just want to hang with cool people and play on their devices, right? Not necessarily.
Kids and youth crave honesty and authenticity. They want leaders who are real. Leaders who will admit they aren’t perfect but will do their best.
In Acts chapter 6, the disciples had a problem. They are busy preaching the good news and realized the widows had been neglected. If you are a helper type like me, verses 3-4 will rock you to the core. They did not stop what they were doing to take on this additional job. They recognized that their current role was important and time-consuming. They needed someone else to dedicate themselves to the work of the widows.
In ministry it is easy to be swayed and think we must do it all. We look around at what other churches, other ministry groups, other leaders are doing and think, “I need to do that too!” But one of my favorite lessons from the early church is this… delegate. Work to your strengths and let others work to their strengths. We don’t have to be all the things to all the people.
The youth love my husband because he is authentic. He is really good at teaching Scripture, so that is what he does. He never tries to be someone he is not. He may not be the fun one, but he is the one who shows up every single week. He teaches them what the Bible really says. He challenges them to think.
What is your role in ministry? Are you the fun one? The one with lots of Scripture knowledge? The one great at organizing? The one comfortable with technology? The one good at remembering people’s names and stories?
God gave every one of us talents. What are yours?
Lord, thank you for filling each of us with different gifts. May we freely offer our gifts to your ministry and seek out the gifts in others. Amen.