When we walk into a stadium or a theater, we know exactly what we came for. We came to watch. We came to sit back, enjoy the show, and let someone else do the work. That is a fine way to spend a Saturday afternoon. It is a poor way to belong to a church.
Paul paints a very different picture. In Romans 12 he writes that just as a body has many members, and each member has its own function, so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another (Romans 12:4-5). A body is not a crowd of spectators. Every part is doing something, and the moment one part decides to sit out, the whole body feels the loss.
So here is a question worth sitting with, and worth making personal. If I am a member of this church, what do I actually do here? Not what do I get out of it, but what do I give to it. Scripture answers that question with real, reachable work, and none of it is reserved for elders, deacons, or preachers. It belongs to every Christian, however young in the faith, however quiet, however busy.
There is the work of worship. Jesus told the woman at the well that God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). That is not a performance we attend. It is work we do together, from the heart and according to God’s word, singing, praying, giving, remembering the Lord’s supper, and listening to his word. The early church devoted themselves to it (Acts 2:42), and simply by being present and engaged, you strengthen everyone in the room.
There is the work of encouragement. The church gave Barnabas his name because it meant son of encouragement, and Paul tells us plainly to encourage the fainthearted and help the weak (1 Thessalonians 5:14). Look around on a Sunday and you will find people carrying sickness, grief, anxiety, and worry they rarely say out loud. A phone call, a text, a card in the mail, a lunch invitation, a word spoken face to face, any of these can lift a brother or sister who is struggling. It costs us only our selfishness.
There is the work of using our gifts. Peter says that each one has received a gift, and we are to use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s grace (1 Peter 4:10). Notice, each one. We tend to prize the visible gifts, teaching a class or leading a prayer, and overlook the rest. But patience with a hurting friend, hospitality, a kids’ class, keeping the building in good repair, running the sound, welcoming a guest, these are gifts the body cannot do without. When we leave ours unused, the whole church is poorer for it.
There is the work of restoration. This one makes us squirm, but Paul gives it to every spiritual Christian, not just the leaders. If anyone is caught in a sin, he says, you who are spiritual restore him in a spirit of gentleness (Galatians 6:1). It begins with paying attention, noticing who has been missing, and then praying, reaching out, and gently calling people home, never treating them as enemies but as family we want back at the table.
And there is the work of evangelism. Before he returned to the Father, Jesus told his followers to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19), and ordinary Christians took him at his word. We can all share the good news in simple ways. We can shine, living with such integrity that people want to know why. We can speak, bringing God into our everyday conversations. We can invite, because an honest come and see still changes lives. And we can welcome, keeping our eyes open for the guest who walks through the door, because sometimes the best prospect is sitting a pew away.
There is a lot of work to do. That is not a burden. It is good news, because it means there is a place for you. You are not here to fill a seat and watch. You are a working, contributing, needed part of the body of Christ, and when you take up your part, the whole family grows stronger.
If you have never been added to the Lord’s church, or if you have wandered away from it, that work is open to you too. The same Lord who gives us a job to do stands ready to forgive and to welcome you home. Watch the full lesson below.
