Service In The Place Of Worship_final.docx

Hi Christopher, thanks for this write up. It is missing the point a bit. The information I was looking for it to convey is that individuals can contribute their "act of service" in the house of God through the different positions, eg. "minister of religion", "Choir", etc. In essence, people can also put back into their community through their involvement in their churches or ministry. To also particularly say in the introduction that this section is focussing on Christianity religion as the book is unable to cover other religions. Please let me know if you require more clarification. The essence of this article is to describe ways people can volunteer their time in the house of God.

Service in the place of worship Act of service, for some is a sacred practice. Aside from public service people can contribute their act of service in the house of God by means of different positions discussed below. Yet, we only pay close attention to Christianity as it cannot cover each religion. The bottom is, there are ways and means that individuals can volunteer their time in the House of God. What comes to your mind when you think of worship? Is it a time for rejoicing and singing songs during Sunday morning church service? Is it the time where we sing and listen to the songs sung by the music ministry and we dance around while praying? Well, honestly, all of those scenarios stated above are basically regarded as worship in our culture but in a deeper and true nature of worship, these are only considered tools to our worship. Worship is service. It goes really far beyond playing instruments, waving banners and singing songs. We have to be reminded that worship is not an event that occurs at any given time but it is basically a way of life. In a broader sense, we never ceased from worshiping some person or even object. We will regard worship as a service that which we hold in its optimum esteem. We worship that which has the best worth in our living. We recognize worshiping as the highest form of service and that what means to us. What has most worth to us? What means more to us than anything in this very world? For whom or what do we possess the optimum service? The answer to any or all of these queries will pave the way to the true meaning of service. To personify service in the house of God, these outlets or positions can help each one contribute to their community through their immersion in their churches or ministry: MINISTER OF RELIGION: The ministry of religion is considered as the nucleus of each creed. It is the operating system for the entire religion. Verily, it is headed by the Minister of Religion which sees to it that the rules and guidelines of services are abided based on the scriptures and learning in the bible. He/she also formulates the rules and regulations of the sect or congregations and creates different sub-ministries like music ministry, catechetical ministry, retreat ministry and the like. In other words, those who have been baptized into Jesus Christ have been recruited to the Minister of Church by God himself. We have to be reminded that worship is a special privilege destined for Christian and Christianity as a whole. It should be an emotional service and a kind of fulfilling experience. The Minister of Religion focuses on its worth because it reminds us of our future home with God. PRAYER WARRIOR: The prayer warrior is a symbol of collective prayer. It is your partner in worship where you pray for and with each other or even when you are not together. Christianity believes in the scripture from Matthew 18:20, that “where two or three gather together in My name, there am I with them.” It is a belief where a prayer prayed by more than two is stronger

than a prayer only made by one. It is a special type of worship where your deed is for the other person and offered to the lord above. “As prayer warriors, we must remember that no matter how hopeless a situation may appear to us, God gives us power in prayer to do something about it. We may be overwhelmed by it, but God isn’t. We may not see a way out, but God can. Because of Him, we can make a difference!” Stormie Omartian, Prayer Warrior. WORSHIP CHOIR: This is a regular worship where you sing for services during Sundays and special catechetical activities. It is a group of people who has a goal of singing for the Lord. For them, it is their own way of service and worship to the Lord by singing church songs. They say that a song is one of the greatest end most efficient ways of prayer. According to a famous choirmaster/musician, “The main end of our lives is to serve God in the serving of Men in the works of our Callings”. An English church leader and poet also once say, “Be laborious and diligent in your callings, and if you cheerfully serve God in the labor of your hands and voice, with a heavenly and obedient mind, it will be acceptable to him as if you had spent all that time in more spiritual exercises”. CHURCH ADMINISTRATION: It is considered to be a governance of the church itself. People working for the administration of churches are free of charge and devote significant hours of time for office and clerical work. Thus, helping the office administration of churches’ transaction is their own way of service and worship at the same time. Church administration is akin to delegation, the assigning of things. Jethro told Moses to delegate the minimal tasks so he could pay attention on the major issues of guiding the Nation of Israel to the promised land. Clearly assigning the task the person is entrusted with. AGiving the necessary authority and capability to finish the responsibility assigned. This is a special type of service and worship by sharing the tasks and responsibility of churches so that others may have a share of heaven in earth. USHERING: Ushering in spiritual terms means shepherding. It is like a leader leading the way of his flock to the right path. In worship, ushering is guiding the people based on the scriptures and the word of the Lord to become a better person. The deeper meaning of worship lies in our spiritual heritage. The Hebrew writer states that we have not engaged with something that cannot be touched, the burning fire of Mount Sinaii where the commandments was presented to Moses. We also have come to something that we can feel. We feel in our hearts our connection with the Lord. And in that regard, we worship because it is our way of serving the Lord. For the Ushers, like Moses, they do want their people to live a life that is like theirs. So they guide us through the proper path of service and salvation. In turn, it’s is now their way of service. TRUSTEES: Trustees are members of the church organization that is considered as a non-stock and non-profit organization that deals with the guidelines and parameters on how to contract with everyday lives of the church and its people. Since it is a non-stock entity, majority of the members are serving without any compensation in return. It is their way of service. For them, doing clerical and office works in their forte are their share in the piece of worship and a means of service. It is a corporate way of church administration.

EVANGELISM: Evangelism is a personal approach in nature. It is considered to be one of the most fundamental elements of evangelistic church scheme. It is their own way of service which is dedicated to share, influence and train others so that new gifts can be enhanced and imparted. This type of worship as a service is a continuous process. The student later on becomes the teacher by imparting what they learned. Evangelism is the promulgation or preaching of Gospel. It is somehow a missionary work. At the end of the day, an evangelist shall be knowledgeable in scriptures and teachings of the bible. However, everyone can evangelize as a way of service. Those who were called by these names were not just the Bible academes but also the regular people or the average Christians. SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER: Being a Sunday School Teacher is considered as a fun way of worship and a light manner of service but cuts deep into each individual’s soul. It is teaching the children the word of god and leading its way to salvation. I say it’s a fun way because you get to interact with the young, and the young-at heart. All in all, this is a fun culmination of all of what we discussed above. What is the reason for worship? What is its essence? It is not an issue on whether we worship or not but rather the reason behind worshipping. Of course we will worship in one way or the other, but why? It is simply because it is regarded as the highest form of service. We believe that it is the root of our existence. If that does not suffice you to get ecstatic about service as worship, I do not know what would be. The deeper meaning of worship as a service is not in the actions that we go through, but our relationship with God. The most essential thing is what happens in our hearts. That is the definitive factor or service through worship. Worship is a time of renewing and reinforcing our very own commitment with him. We should be abundant with overflowing praise and gratitude, because we are in the arms of God. That is why as an act of gratitude, we service him by worshiping him through many forms and aids. With that, I leave you a very nice quote by Billy Graham, “the highest form of worship of unselfish Christian service. The greatest form of praise is the sound of consecrated feet seeking out the lost and helpless.”