How to Help at Church

Too often people, particularly those who are new to attending church, walk in the door with the thought that the only help needed in a church are a pastor to preach to the flock and a choir to sing in front of everyone. Right up front let me tell you that no matter how large or small, no matter what the religion, denomination, or history of a church there is much more involved.

In some way every member of a church can help in some form or another. Of course if your intention is to be merely a as I like to put it 'pew setter' that's fine but that is a shame because not only are you missing out on the opportunity to contribute in some way but also there is more than likely someone who could gain from your help.

It is very common in many smaller churches particularly to find a very small group of people doing everything and a larger group 'pew sitting'. Besides the pastor and choir what about the Sunday school teachers, the greeters, the cleaners or maintenance people? Lets not leave out those bulletins that need written, published, and distributed, the tasks of keeping records or track of church member's, addresses, phone numbers, and these days e-mail addresses.

There are many more jobs or areas where help is needed in a church, any church. Of course a pianist and or organist are nice but then many churches are going contemporary and adding guitars, drums, and more. If that's not where your talent lies what about that parking lot that needs snow plowed or the sidewalks shoveled, leave that need raked or flower beds planted and cared for.

If you drive to church is your vehicle full or do you have an empty seat or two? How about picking up the elderly lady that lives just down the road from you or the two young kids whose single mother has to work Sunday morning? You may even consider seeing if the church would like to start a Sunday school bus or if they already have one maybe the gentleman who drives would like a day off now and then.

One of the most important things to consider when thinking about how you can help at church is to look at yourself and spot some of your talents or pleasures that you could use to help in some way. Doing something that you just absolutely don't enjoy or are horrible at will not help you to help the church with a joyous heart. Anything you do for the Lord you should do with joy and before you say no to a helpful task or duty you might give it a try.

A little personal story here: I was terrified at the thought of being a greeter at my church, but I truly wanted to get involved and do something. Please understand I'm very nervous meeting people, my hands sweat horribly when I'm nervous so avoid shaking hands with people. 4 years later when I moved away one of the things I missed most of all was greeting people at our early service every Sunday morning.

Another helpful thing I did grew from my talent for writing. A couple of the ladies who were leaders of the women's group at our church decided it would be nice to have a newsletter about and for the women's group. The newsletter would be for attending members, ladies who couldn't be at every meeting, and also to use as a witnessing tool. These same ladies found out I was a writer and approached me with their idea. I was given free rain whatever I decided to do would be fine - I did that for 3 years: writer, editor, and printer.

Maybe you could start or help with collecting goods for missionaries or even organize fund raising activities to support a missionary family. Another area our church really shines is the 'Men in Action'. These men meet weekly for prayer and bible study but go far beyond that. These men have helped people move, put on dinners for an entire trailer park (grilled hot dogs, chips, and soda pop but the kids and their families loved it). They have also gone into homes and done major repairs such as replacing missing doors, fixing windows, and just all around made a difficult place to live a nice home.

Several times the women's group and the men's group joined efforts helping people move from one home to another. The ladies would go in help with packing things as well as transporting things like house plants then the men came in with trucks and muscles and moved the boxes and furniture. Helping at church doesn't always mean within the walls of the church building or even on church property.

If you are thinking about or would like to help around the church all you really need to do is look for a need and offer yourself. Helping at church is helping to do the Lord's work, can help you grow within, and can in many ways help others around you whether you know them or not. Don't be afraid you aren't good enough or don't have any talent we were each given different talents now it's our job to use them.