Thank God for Sacrificial Giving

David mentioned the workers in the children’s ministry last week and I also thank God for them. I worked in children’s ministries for years before God called me into music. It does involve great sacrifice, but it’s also so much fun. I think most service has that aspect to it. We do have to sacrifice something in order to serve God, but we also receive so much from it that we forget the sacrifice part. That’s because joy is birthed in sacrifice. Jesus said, “It’s more blessed to give than to receive”, and that’s the same principle. We give up of ourselves and we are blessed; we find joy.

I want to share with you some of the sacrificial givers that I know in the church. This is not a complete list by any means, just the ones I know of, or the ones that come to mind right now (so, it’s going to come up waaaaayyyy short).

Our Prayer Team: This team has been around a long time and has been very faithful over the years. The members of the team have changed a little over the years but the core of the group has remained the same. Now, this group is not the group that is holding prayer services right now, but one that has been around for years. It’s mostly made up of Charles, Margaret, Lucy, Ed and Mark. This team has been faithful for many years to pray for our church, it’s leaders and anything else that arises. Why is it sacrificial? Because it was mostly done in secret with only a few people even knowing it was around. No spotlight, no thanks, no attention, just faithfulness.

Building Servants; I know that most of us have no clue who keeps our building up; who cleans it; who fixes things; who takes out the trash; or who spot cleans every week. Again, there have been many people who have had a hand in this and to leave anyone out would be a travesty. So, I’ll only mention the first names of the people I know of. You might guess some of them or not, but God knows. Dave, Claude, Bill, Mike, Glen, Bryan, Maime, Susan, Darla, Erik. Please forgive me if I missed you. I’m just a man and don’t know as much as your Father.

A/V Computer Team; These are true behind the scenes heroes. They labor without recognition and like it that way. But, if it weren’t for them we would have a dryer and quieter worship service. They run the lights, overheads, sound, computers, and cameras. They are usually geeks in nature or they at least like to tinker. A lot of them are very creative and resourceful. They scour the internet for cool stuff; attend seminars to learn new technology; train relentlessly on the latest software and hardware; and generally get excited about stuff that most of us will never understand. In their ranks are such luminaries as; Chris, Roberto, Tony, Chuck, Scott, Dan, Craig, Jeff, David and Ed.

Musicians: Talk about sacrifice! We’re talking serious get-out-your-wallet, take-time-from-your-family, die-hard sacrifice. Most of the musicians on stage have invested thousand of dollars in their equipment, not hundreds, but thousands. Someone might say, “yes, but they probably already had that stuff or just enjoy buying it”. Well, no, that is not the case. Most of the musicians will start out with a cheap guitar or drums, but have to buy some quality equipment and back-up gear to play live on Sunday morning. They are so dedicated to what God has called them to do that they will buy another $1000.00 guitar to set aside just in case something goes wrong with their primary guitar. And if they have to tune differently for a song, they have to have another guitar just for that tuning. And the pedals and amps for an electric guitar or bass will easily run above $1500.00. And the drums are all owned by the players (I couldn’t even afford to buy a cymbal when we needed one to give you an idea of the cost). To say nothing of the time it takes to practice the music and learn the songs. Our bands have always had the philosophy that they did not want to distract anyone from worship. That means long practices as a band and more time at home listening to CD’s. Thanks to all you musicians, whether you play an instrument or sing, you lead us to the throne and we’re grateful for that.

Staff: We have, without a doubt, some of the most dedicated, creative and faithful staff money can’t buy (you do know they are working full time, as part time, with either little or no pay). They are truly the backbone of our church. They insure our ministries are thriving as they work sacrificially in their duties. They plan week-to-week and all special events. They make sure all the ministries have all they need to do what God has called them to do. They deserve all the praise they receive for all that they do. Thank you David, Susan, Tiffany, Jason, Erik and Amity.

Drama: You know, I could say a lot about these guys, but not as well as they would say if they put it in a skit. I’m amazed every time I see them. And can you imagine what it takes to memorize their lines? I used to be able to play songs for hours without a sheet of music or words, but I just can’t do it anymore. I guess I’m getting old. But memorizing music is still easier than memorizing lines. They have to sacrifice time at home and time at church to get that stuff down right. Thank you all for such professional work!

Now, I know I’ve left out too many people and many, many, ministries. You see, I have a good excuse, I’m getting older. But, you know people that give of themselves every week in some sort of sacrificial way. Would you remember to thank them the next time you see them? Would you pray for them that they would remain faithful; that they would be protected from evil and that God would give them strength? Would you also pray for their families and their finances? When someone is sacrificial it usually means that their spouse and/or children are spending time alone and it means that their finances are impacted. Also, if they are impacting the Kingdom of God the devil will be sure to throw everything he can at them to get them to stop.

God has truly blessed New Life with an amazing group of talented and dedicated servants. I am so glad to call it home.

Lynn