I’ve seen many people come to church asking for God to bless them but they show up to church late, uninterested, and they are the first ones to leave. No contribution, no servitude, no gratitude. In my experience of serving in my ministry since I was 16 years old (now 22), I have gradually taken on more and more responsibility. I went from just playing the drums to helping set up the equipment in the morning, to editing the sermons during the week, to doing the occasional church video, to playing bass, to playing guitar, to sometimes leading worship by myself, and finally setting up church by myself. Out of all of those things, which have not been fun all the time, I can say something without any doubt: I have been countlessly blessed by it. Chains have fallen off, I have been restored consistently, I have been provided for, I have maintained proper accountability, and I have been given opportunities by the pastor that I would not have otherwise had if I had not shown myself to be reliable and willing to serve.
But this is not just my experience, this is biblically founded. Specifically, we see how a willingness to serve will bring about gifts of the Holy Spirit like almost nothing else can in Acts chapter 6. Stephen, the first martyr of the Christian church, is first introduced as one of the seven men that solved the issue of Hellenist women not being properly fed. Stephen and his friends went ahead and served these women food, a menial task. Later on, it showed that Stephen was doing “great wonders and signs among the people.” So great that it got him killed and he was immortalized by the Scripture.
In summation, if you want to be blessed, then serve your church. Stop asking the pastor for counseling sessions while you skip half of the services. Stop telling the worship team that they should play song X Y or Z when you show up in the middle of their set with less energy than a zombie. Serve, even the most meaningless task, and let God minister to you.
