Ministry – Using Your Gifts tagged: ,

Ministry – Using Your Gifts

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Works are not faith, but our works express our faith. Why do we do what we do as Christians? What “spurs us on toward love and good deeds” as our mantra verse states in the above banner?

As I shared in my last post here on sbc IMPACT!, “ministry” has various meanings for various folks. Ministry is as individual as the person ministering. And it’s suppose to be that way. God designed us each to be different. He gave us all different gifts. And those gifts are special–just for us. No one else has your gift as you have it. No one else can reach another individual as God intends for you to reach them. We aren’t all going to be song leaders, preachers, teachers or administrators. But God does intend for us all to be ministers.

Minister means servant–one who serves. And there are plenty of verses in the Bible where God points out what He means by a servant and what He expects of His servant. But before I share some of the ways I see Christians minister in my part of the country, let me state that I truly believe God uses each of us to bring about HIS purpose. And even if we think we have botched some task or blown an opportunity, God is the One and Only Person Who brings fruit from our efforts. He calls us to be faithful to His commands. He doesn’t want us sitting idle to give a foothold for satan to work in our lives. So don’t let the evil one defeat you in what you seek to do as you understand your gifts to be used for the body of our Lord.

Not all ministries are for you–not all are for me. But the heart and soul that spurs individuals to minister is for us all. We can all gain tremendous inspiration from watching others serve the Lord. But ultimately the greatest blessing comes from serving ourselves–using the gifts we have been given. And we all have some. I have several ministers I want to share with you over the coming months but for now, I’d like to focus on a group of ladies from Lawton, Oklahoma.

For over thirty years in Lawton, Oklahoma, a group of volunteers from various churches within the Cotton-Comanche Association have met weekly to share their faith and extend their ministerial hands to ladies of various nationalities. I think what they have done can be an example for what could be done in our ever-increasing number of ethnic cultures in America. While much of what they do can be emulated, much more could be added to the mix of things they do. And the door is as wide as the creativity and vision any association chooses to take a ministry such as Friendship International.

The downtown First Baptist has supplied the facility and the nursery for their meetings. Cotton-Comanche Association provides some funding for various material needs. Churches throughout the association sign up to provide refreshments. And all is coordinated by volunteers from local churches in Lawton. The director of Friendship International in Lawton is Beverly Passmore, wife of Doug Passmore, pastor of First Baptist EAST of Lawton. She has been part of this ministry for more than 30 years–faithfully touching the lives of women from nations around the world.

Can you imagine being so devoted to a mission to volunteer for over three decades? Beverly has seen ladies and leaders come and go. But the heart of the ministry has never left. Some of the Japanese ladies who attend the weekly Bible study have been coming for over thirty years. They have forged lifelong friendships.

Beverly tells of one lady whose husband was dying of cancer. His last wish was that his wife become an American citizen. Through the efforts of F-I, his wish was granted.

Beverly is quick to point out that other places have Friendship International and two areas that she knows of are Edmund, Oklahoma and Houston, Texas. So it is something others can start if they feel led. What could happen from this if all the downtown churches that have facilities sitting empty all week could open their doors for an association of churches to volunteer and begin ethnic ministries?

Just two weeks ago, a lady from Congo came to Lawton’s group for the first time. Each lady who serves at F-I has multiple other ministries in which they use their gifts in service for our Savior. But for this post I wanted to share their collective efforts with internationals. If you’d like to read more about the ladies who work here in Lawton, you can read it HERE. And if you’d like to see more stories like this, let me know. selahV