What Is Your Fire?

Everyone has that little calling in ministry, whether it's a heart for homeless people, a passion to teach children, or a zeal for maintaining the church property. A striving Christian will recognize this gift in his or her heart. Where is yours? I recognize where my fire is directed to. I have a strong passion for martyrs and the Underground Church. I love to read of Richard Wurmbrand, or other heroic believers who were willing to, or who did, surrender their physical lives for Christ.

In my small but striving inter-city church, I recognize many pursued passions from fellow brethren. One couple started a computer lab, which is open to teach people in the community how to use computers, which is handy for job applications, among other tasks. Two men has a combined passion for homeless people, and have started a ministry that feeds fifty to sixty homeless or poverty-stricken people on Mondays. One young woman, a close friend of mine, has a passion for worship that usually leads her to other churches to lead their worship services. One elderly man has such a heart of servitude that he voluntarily painted the entire second floor of church, by hand, and by himself. Another friend, my closest, has a strong passion for evangelism, and is a skilled apologist, whom I have seen communicate clearly and effectively with lost people. I myself have witnessed this friend lead six or seven people to Christ. One lady used to be on staff, but the church could not afford to pay her for her many long hours and hard dedication, and yet she still continues to volunteer her time to be the children's ministry leader! My pastor, even with all the long, hard hours he puts into working at church, started a photography ministry, an area he is very skilled in and has a passion for.

I am surrounded by strong brothers and sisters in Christ! My church, though it may only have a hundred attendees, is filled with active Jesus Freaks who lead their own ministries. A special attribute of my church is the rule that if you have an idea for a ministry, event, or anything else, you are in charge of it. This is a spectacular way to get the church body involved. If you want to do something, you don't have to wait. You can start doing it!

So what about you? What can you do for God? If you are skilled with bicycles and live in a city dominated by university students, perhaps you can start a bicycle repair shop to minister to the students in your city. Or if you have a passion for sewing and live in a northern state, perhaps you can start a ministry to clothe the homeless people when winter comes. Or if you have art skills, why not volunteer to make posters for church events, or even paint rooms with a beautiful design? And if you enjoy to spend hours upon hours online or playing video games, it may be time to ask someone at church if you can run sound or EasyWorship (the slide show system) at church.

There are an endless amount of possibilities out there, and each church has needs. Find out where to plug in and get active! When Paul wrote about spiritual gifts, he wasn't only saying Christians would have emotional or spiritual skills; he meant we would have physical skills, too. So figure out what you are good at (or could be good at, with a little practice), and start working!