Jesus was a servant. The church is supposed to serve. But what does that service look like? What is the difference between a ministry that has a culture of service and one that doesn’t? This post will continue our review of the Venture fall retreat by asking the question, “What does a culture of service look like?” In the first of three posts about this, I will talk about 2 characteristics of a culture of service: a sense of calling and being willing to take risks.

A Sense of Calling.

Our service is an overflow of understanding the call of God on our lives. It is a natural response to the facts that that Jesus served, that he calls us to serve, that this is how the church functions, and that this will make a difference in the world (the things that were discussed in the previous post on why we need a culture of service).

It is also an overflow of what God has done in your life: God has saved you, put you in Christ, so you serve. And it’s a privilege. This is how we deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him. Whether we are cleaning up coffee, pouring over passages preparing for small group, taking food to the homeless, greeting at the Venture service—whatever it is, it is the calling of God. It’s his call on our lives.

And it is true not just here at Venture; it is true for anywhere you might go to church. You should never go to any church and just sit and soak up knowledge and not serve. That is dysfunctional and contrary to Jesus, his word, and the gospel. We are called to serve, and a place that has a culture of service understands that.

A Willingness to Take Risks

We serve empowered by Jesus. Ephesians 4:7 reads:

But to each one of us grace is given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

And 1 Cor 12:7 reads:

To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the benefit of all.

Jesus has given grace to each of us; and grace is not just grace towards salvation, but it also has the power for enablement. We can serve in his strength and in the strength of the Holy Spirit. When a task seems risky or difficult, we can get our strength from him. We can trust his sovereignty and his provision for us.

On the list of question and responses about service in a previous post, there were potential responses like these: when asked to serve, I will do it when I know more, or when I grow spiritually, or when I get some experience. Well, that is usually not a valid response. Here’s why: you can trust Jesus and his Spirit to give you strength. You can let him use you and stretch you and you can take risks.

Let’s think about this: at what point will you ever be qualified to serve? When will God say, “OK, you’ve gotten this holy and this wise, now O wise and holy child, you may serve me.” No. We’re all a mess. We all need the help of Christ. So get in there and take risks.

Think about parents. Are they ready to have a baby when the baby comes? From my own experience, I would say, “Heck no.” I did not know what I was doing. Yes, you read books. Yes, you get advice from people. But a lot of it is simply figuring it out as you go along. And to a large extent, that is the mentality that we need to have for a culture of serving. Jump in. I’ll figure it out as I go. I will trust the Lord to help me.

I remember when I was first asked to take over Venture as the pastor, and it was very difficult for me. I had never led a team, never felt the burden of leading a group of people like this. It was very challenging. And I remember often falling to my knees in exasperation after a difficult meeting or challenging conversation. I was (and still am) learning as I go, trusting God to give me strength to face the challenges that will come. This is a huge part of what a culture of service looks like—taking risks and trusting God, even when we don’t have the experience or training or perfection that we think we need to have. Bottom line- it is trusting God and his strength, and not our own.

In the next post, I’ll look at two more characteristics of a culture of service: serving anywhere and everywhere and serving at every stage of life.