Acts 6:1-7 | the Desperate Need for YouSample

Here’s what the Twelve said: “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables” (Acts 6:2). In other words, we can’t do it all. Nor should we.

In that term “waiting on tables,” the word translated “waiting” (or serving) is diakonia. You might see the word “deacon” in this. While deacons are official positions in many churches, both past and present, the term itself just means “serving.” And while we see that for good order people are appointed to serve (and not just everyone doing their own thing according to what’s right in their own eyes), it shouldn’t lead us to believe that serving is just for them. Leonard Sweet is quoted as saying that each of us has a ministry to the Body and a mission to the world. Every Christian is to be engaged in some kind of diakonia.

The church was never meant to be a place where a few paid professionals do the ministry of the church. The church is always to be a place where each person in Christ has a vital role to play.

Maybe you read a passage like Acts 6 with the thought that you don’t have the right kind of gifts—Nonsense. God gives every Christian gifts for service. How can you use yours to strengthen your church?